Gajevy Week 2017: Gajeel of the Shinsengumi
by ImpracticalDemon
Summary: Some reincarnations are harder than others. Left behind in Kyoto at age 5, Levy is a servant in late Edo Japan (1864), at a time when girls are barely taught to write. When the Kyoto police raid the inn where she lives what will she do? Can she trust the black-haired, red-eyed officer who seems to know magic when he sees it? Will she join the Shinsengumi to learn of her own past?
1. Ikedaya--Gajeel of the Shinsengumi

**Author's Note: Written for Gajevy Week 2017**

 **Bonus Prompt—AU**

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 **General:**

Some reincarnations are harder than others. Left behind in Kyoto at age five, Levy is a servant-girl in late Edo Japan (1864), at a time when girls are barely taught to write. When the Kyoto police raid the inn where she lives and works, how will she defend herself and her adopted family? Can she trust a certain black-haired, red-eyed police officer who seems to know magic when he sees it?

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 **Chapter 1—Gajeel of the Shinsengumi**

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She couldn't remember having a name other than Levy, and nobody called her that anyway. The first part wasn't especially surprising, since under the laws of the Shogun, Lord Iemochi Tokugawa, only members of the samurai class were allowed to use a surname. The second part was also simply explained: the family that housed her, and more or less fed her, found the name 'Levy' too foreign for either safety or convenience; instead, they called her Aoi, meaning blue, which was the colour of her hair.

Levy remembered the day that her father had brought her to the Ikedaya, a mediocre inn found in the central part of the vast city of Kyoto. She didn't know his name, because to her he had just been _otosan_ ,(1) but she wished he hadn't left her in this place. He was the only person she'd ever known with hair like hers. Of course, he was probably dead now. It had been a dozen years since he had gone out to meet some friends and never come back. Ikeda-san was now the master of the house, instead of merely the heir. Levy didn't like him much, but fortunately his mother was still alive and she had been the one to insist on keeping the girl in the first place. It was assumed that her father had been swallowed up by the dangerous streets of Kyoto like so many others.

The day had started out like many others: she'd gotten up before dawn, started the cooking fire, and taken her mistress her morning tea. At this point, Ikeda Keiko-san was the one person Levy cared about in the household. Keiko-san had been kind to Levy when her father hadn't returned, and the only member of the family to return the tentative embraces of an affectionate child. There was a lot of gray in the woman's hair now, but otherwise she wasn't much changed. She had been stoic when her husband had died, but Levy thought that she was rather lonely, and didn't approve much of her son's friends. However, apart from refusing to be parted from Levy, she had acquiesced to all of her son's orders: after all, he was a man and the head of the family.

"We have special guests arriving today, Aoi-chan," Keiko remarked as she sipped her tea. "At least, my son thinks they are special, so he will want to have extra food and drink on-hand."

"Yes, Keiko-san."

"I will be down to help you shortly. After breakfast has been cooked and served, we will go shopping."

"Yes, Keiko-san."

The day had progressed accordingly, although the shopping trip had been more extensive than usual. As Levy had gotten older, she had learned that tying her hair back into a severe ponytail minimized the odd colour. Nevertheless, on a sunny day like today, she drew curious looks from those who didn't recognize her as the Ikeda's servant-girl. Lately, she'd also been subjected to the occasional nasty comment from the inn's patrons, who assumed that her parents must have been foreigners. Anti-foreigner sentiment had risen sharply in Japan since the Americans had forced the Japanese to trade with them more or less at gun-point about ten years earlier.

As Keiko-san had predicted, men arrived at the inn throughout the afternoon and early evening, many showing signs of wanting to avoid notice. The master himself stood at the door turning away the occasional potential client who wasn't part of the group of grim-faced men currently assembling in the inn's main rooms. It didn't take long for Levy to notice that all of the men were armed. She did her best to ignore the ongoing conversations while she silently served _sake_ and brought out trays of food. Keiko-san had also insisted that she cover her hair that evening, and Ikeda-san had growled his approval of the precaution. Apparently his so-called friends were members of a particularly militant faction intent on ejecting all foreigners from Japan.

By ten o'clock, the meeting was in full swing, the rumble of male voices clearly audible to Levy, who had been sent to bed by Keiko-san once dinner had been served and cleared and the kitchen had been tidied. Levy slept in the storage pantry adjoining the kitchen, which suited her, as it allowed her to slip out the back door into the garden whenever she couldn't sleep at night.

Tonight she sat on top of her futon, still fully dressed and alert. She'd been increasingly twitchy all evening, and even the placid Keiko-san had told her to keep a knife by her pillow that night, in case one of the men decided to find out what other services the inn's serving girl might provide.

The first intimation of disaster was when the front door was flung open with a force that splintered the wood and a powerful voice called out:

"I am Commander Kondō Isami of the Shinsengumi. You are all under arrest for conspiracy! Those who do not surrender will be killed."

It wasn't so much a hint of things to come as a declaration of war. The Shinsengumi were Kyoto's ruthless, Shogun-backed police force. The known facts about them were bad, and the rumours were worse. More importantly, in the present situation, they were fierce enemies of the men gathered at the Ikedaya that evening. Levy didn't fully understand it, but she'd learned enough in the last year or so to know what while everyone said they wanted the foreigners out of Japan, there were some who felt that the Shogun should return full executive and military power back to the Emperor in order to accomplish this goal.

As the inn exploded with the clash of swords and the screams of men, Levy realized that her master's friends were part of this anti-Shogun group, and were under attack by one of the most dangerous quasi-military units in Kyoto. She stole noiselessly into the kitchen and peered out the back window, just in time to see figures in the unmistakeable light-blue coats of the Shinsengumi take up guard positions around the back of the inn.

"Bloody fucking _hell_." Levy had learned a number of words from the inn's patrons that she didn't use around Keiko-san.

She wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. She'd heard that the Shinsengumi could be just as ruthless with women as with men when it came to those who collaborated with the anti-Shogun forces. An undersized seventeen-year-old girl, who looked like a foreigner (supposedly), would be in considerable danger around such men. In fact, she could be in danger from either side, since the rebels wouldn't necessarily want her around to identify them.

After a short debate with herself, she placed her right index finger on the palm of her left hand. With a last nervous glance at the door, because the noise of battle was growing closer to the back areas of the inn, Levy traced the word _light_ onto her skin. It was one of the very few things she had been taught to write as a young child, and of course she had been taught almost nothing as a servant. Keiko-san had shown her how to recognize a few basic words, but not how to form them. She'd never shown the Ikeda family the magic writing, of course—somebody, maybe her father, had drilled absolute secrecy into her well before the ill-fated trip to Kyoto.

Just then, she heard the sound of feet running toward the kitchen. Levy quickly opened the sliding door to the pantry a crack, and confirmed that it was Keiko-san, with tears glimmering on her face. Before she could hurry out to help the older woman, who was panting heavily, there was a crash and a scream. A massive figure wearing Shinsengumi blue had exploded out of the short passage behind Levy's mistress, and felled her to the floor with a single, punishing blow.

Heedless of her own safety, Levy dashed out of the pantry, knife raised.

"You bastard! Shinsengumi dog! She's just an old woman—leave her alone!"

Almost unconsciously, she flung out her left hand, and her passionate wish gave power to the flickering word traced on her palm. There was a flash of actinic light—much brighter than anything produced by human technology—and the intruder staggered back slightly, flinging an arm over his eyes.

"What the hell, you little bitch!"

Seen in the sudden flare of illumination, the intruder was even bigger than Levy had thought, his rough mane of black hair barely contained by his high ponytail and iron-reinforced headguard. His katana shone with wet blood and his jacket and loose trousers were liberally spattered with gore.

Realizing in despair that the police officer filled the whole doorway, Levy gave up any hope of escaping the kitchen and dropped to her knees beside Keiko-san, who was motionless and bleeding from her mouth and nose. Abandoning her knife without a second thought, Levy frantically dabbed at the blood and tried to rouse her mistress.

"Keiko-san! Keiko-san, wake up!"

To her surprise, the woman's eyes started to flutter open. "Aoi?" she whispered, in a thread of a voice.

Just then, Levy felt a massive hand close around her wrist. A moment later, she was yanked upward until her feet dangled several inches off the floor. The officer was holding her level with his eyes, and Levy almost blacked out from the wrenching pain in her left arm. The light was fading quickly, now, as it usually did, but there was more than enough to see that her captor's eyes were a sparkling, ruby red.

"What is your name, girl? Aoi? Is that it?"

"Yes… yes it is…" Levy could feel her determination slipping away from her to be replaced by fear. Her life might not be wonderful, but she didn't want to _die_ just because the inn's owner was a rebel.

The man gave her a little shake, and she whimpered.

"Try again, kid—what's your name?"

Confused and overwhelmed, Levy blurted: "Levy. I'm Levy. B-but nobody calls me that."

She was set on her feet as suddenly as she'd been picked up. Her left wrist was numb with little shooting sparks of pain, and her whole arm ached desperately. She cradled it against her chest.

"Levy, huh." The Shinsengumi officer seemed to be thinking hard. Even stranger, he said her name perfectly, the way she remembered her father saying it. "That's… very interesting."

Levy crouched beside Keiko-san, who still seemed to be breathing.

"We weren't part of whatever was going on," she said, successfully keeping a whimper out of her voice.

The strange red eyes narrowed.

"No, huh?" The man had sheathed his sword and folded his arms over his chest. "Maybe you weren't. But that woman came between me an' the guy who owns this place; almost got me hurt. That makes her guilty, no matter what."

"But Ikeda-san is her _son_ ," Levy retorted indignantly. "Of course she tried to protect him!"

"Levy-chan? Doesn't matter at this point, done is done. If she's still alive when we clean up, then she goes to jail with her son. You too. If you're still here that is."

"Huh?"

Levy stared at him. He'd come into the room in a murderous rage, and almost killed a harmless older woman. He was the scariest man she had ever seen, bar none. But it sounded like he might let her go.

"Not gonna say it twice, kid. Hope it works out for you and… I'll find you later, if you make it." He turned on his heel and started to walk out.

"Wait!" Levy called after him.

He didn't look back, but he stopped.

"What? I've got bad guys to catch."

"Your name. What's your name?" _Was she crazy? Why did she care?_

"Hmm. Well, the Shinsengumi call me Tani Mantarō. But you can call me Gajeel—if we meet up again."

Levy suddenly had a thousand questions for Gajeel-san. Unfortunately, he was gone before she could even open her mouth, and she had an escape to plan. With a sigh, she gently squeezed the hand of Keiko-san, who was unconscious again.

"Thank you for everything, Keiko-san. I hope you live and I can help you some day."

It took her less than two minutes to put together a small bag with her meager possessions. Then she slid out the back window and disappeared into the night.

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[END]

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 **A/Note:**

(1) _Otosan_ = "dad"

Yes, I have a fascination with the Shinsengumi and late Edo Japan. I also have an inability to write short, fully stand-alone stories (though I've managed a few). I hope you enjoyed this story. Reviews and comments would be *greatly* appreciated. Also, would you be interested in a sequel chapter? ~ Impracticaldemon


	2. A Second Home--Levy of the Shinsengumi

**Author's Note:**

Thank you for the encouragement and support for Chapter 1 and the concept of Gajeel of the Shinsengumi. I was slightly delayed getting the next chapter finalized, but here it is now—I sincerely hope that you enjoy more of our intrepid duo!

I have tried to provide a glossary of terms at the end, so if you see numbers like this (X) in the text that means you can look up the word or concept.

Onward!

~ Impracticaldemon

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 **Chapter 2: A Second Home—Levy of the Shinsengumi**

 **Prompt: Matching**

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 **[I] - What Now?**

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Levy had fled in haste from the disaster of the Shinsengumi's raid on the Ikedaya Inn. Whether by Gajeel-san's design or just luck, most of the men at the back of the building had been called into the fight, and her escape hadn't been as difficult as she feared. Still, finding herself in hand-me-down boy's clothing (she usually slept in the short kimono and kept the _hakama_ (1) handy), with no weapon and no money in the middle of Kyoto wasn't a tremendous improvement in her situation. Her small bag contained her one decent woman's kimono, a comb with two broken teeth, a tiny figurine that had been hers since she was a child, and whatever food she had been able to scoop up on her way out of the kitchen.

She'd eventually snatched a few hours' sleep on the outskirts of town, but she'd been awake before dawn as usual and that had given her quite some time to ponder her situation before there were too many people around for her to remain in one place without attracting attention. Gajeel-san had said that he would find her, but that seemed unlikely in a town the size of Kyoto. Moreover, why would he bother? Levy was smart enough to know that he had not been surprised by the magic writing, or by her real name, so obviously it had to do with those things, but since she didn't know her own background, that didn't help.

By late morning, she had somehow made her way toward the southwest of the city—toward the village of Mibu where the Shinsengumi were quartered. She hadn't asked her way, of course; for all she knew, the police were still looking for Aoi, the Ikeda family's blue-haired servant girl. And yet… maybe it was the nearly-empty streets, or the frightened faces, or the whispers, but she had known what direction to go and had gone there as if pulled by an invisible line. Now she stood in the shadows between two buildings—a small tea shop and a rather run-down tailor's—and watched the small flow of people on the street, and in particular the two armed men in blue _haori_ (2) standing in front of the main gate to the Yagi estate where the Shinsengumi executive and other key officers were housed. Most of the rest of the Shinsengumi were housed next door on the Maekwa estate.

So far, the regular morning patrol had not been out, based on the whispers in the street. This left Levy uncertain what to do next. If she left for the countryside around Kyoto, she ran a very high risk of running into thieves and ruffians—bandit groups had become more problematic recently, especially on the two major routes between the Imperial Capital and the major cities of Osaka and Edo. (3) On the other hand, she was almost equally at risk here in the city, although the southern quarter was fairly well-patrolled by the Shinsengumi, which presented its own problems for a vagrant without any documents to attest to her name and city of residence.

Levy was used to being bored, however, and her patience was rewarded not too long after noon, when she saw a big figure with a mane of black hair come through the gate from the Shinsengumi headquarters. She saw him pause not far from the gate guards and pause, his head tilted almost like a wolf trying to catch a scent. The Shinsengumi nickname—the Wolves of Mibu—suited this man extraordinarily well, Levy thought. It was a little troubling to discover that she hadn't exaggerated either his size or his heavily-muscled build the night before.

A minute or two later, Gajeel-san abruptly turned and hurried off down a side-street. Cursing under her breath for having been caught flat-footed, Levy was about to leave the safety of the shadows when there was a soft sound behind her and then a large hand closed over her mouth.

"Don't move or cry out and I won't kill you. Just nod if you agree."

She recognized the deep, almost growling voice immediately. It shouldn't have been possible, but Gajeel-san was behind her, and he sounded perfectly capable of carrying out his threat. She nodded as quickly as she could, hampered by the arm around her head.

"Good choice. Now, put your arms out from your sides and turn slowly."

Again she complied, wide-eyed and frightened but not panicking or in tears the way that other girls she knew would be. As Keiko-san had always said, whoever she was, she was made of tough stuff. Tough or not, she found it difficult to repress a slight whimper as the man's presence hit her in full again. His black mane, imperfectly contained in its high black ponytail, seemed more wolf-like than ever, and his biceps were easily as big around as her legs—not that that was saying much, really. He wasn't wearing the Shinsengumi _haori_ , so she presumed that he wasn't out on official business—had he come looking for her? That thought made her feel marginally better, but the glare in his terrifying, blood-red eyes kept her silent. Oddly enough, his next words seemed to echo her thoughts.

"What colour are my eyes, girl?"

Levy hesitated, but he'd asked and she didn't dare lie: "R-red, Gajeel-san."

The big man immediately frowned, but he closed his teeth on whatever he'd been about to say and nodded sharply.

"Hmm, yes. My fault. Don't use that name unless you're really sure we're alone, understand?"

"Yes? But—"

"I know, my fault, like I said. Most kids your age know better, but you're obviously clueless."

Stung, Levy had to press her lips together against a stinging retort; however, years as a servant had made her learn to watch her words. Gajeel-san smirked, obviously noticing her flash of irritation.

"You've still got a bit of the temper of the People, don't you? Still hasn't been beaten out of you quite yet."

Ignoring Levy's expression of unfeigned confusion—and curiosity—the Shinsengumi officer raked his eyes over her and then walked slowly around her, obviously looking her over. It made her flush uncomfortably; she had learned to avoid the eyes of men at the Ikedaya and she hoped that she hadn't made a mistake in coming to look for Gajeel-san.

"Gods, you're tiny, aren't you?"

Levy ground her teeth but refused to be baited. She was a little on the small side, but while she was maybe an inch or two shorter than most women, not many women reached five feet tall. In contrast, Gajeel-san had to be close to a foot taller than most men. She'd heard that foreigners tended to be taller than Japanese men, but she'd never imagined a man built like an _oni_. Between his red eyes and his size, he might even _be_ one of the ogres or demons of the old tales. (4)

"You don't know your parents?"

"No, Gajeel-san. My father brought me to Kyoto twelve years ago, but he disappeared and I… I don't know his name."

"Mmm. And you know enough not to show people magic?"

" _Hai_."

"Is all your magic based on writing?"

Levy was surprised—the question presented a wider view of her strange ability than she had considered before.

"I… don't know? Maybe?"

Gajeel-san sighed deeply. Apparently the depth of her ignorance troubled him.

"Well, I'm too busy to get you to those who could help you—at least for a while, maybe quite a while. Truth is that the People tend to avoid places like Kyoto an' any of the bigger cities. Not that there aren't quite a few of us here but… well, we tend to be the misfits."

Once again, Levy was left to sift the meaning of the words from tone and nuance. She could only hope that Gajeel-san wouldn't abandon her without giving her more information.

After more than a minute of silence, Gajeel-san patted her roughly on the head. She flinched, but it didn't hurt. There was even a hint of kindness in the gesture, like a man taking pity on a stray kitten but without being entirely sure what to do with it.

"Well, I can do one of two things for you: I can spend a bit of time with you and teach you what I can so you can go looking for the nearest Hall—it's not too far, but it's not really close either; or you can stay with me until you're a bit better able to look after yourself. You can't stay on your own in Kyoto, cause eventually you'll give yourself away, an' means being killed one way or the other."

"What?!" Levy was proud that she kept the word under a shriek, but it wasn't exactly quiet either.

Gajeel-san looked at her sombrely.

"The humans'll kill you if they think you're a witch, an' even if they don't then the People'll eventually hunt you down for being too noticeable. They might even ask me to do the job, an' I'd have to obey."

Levy was appalled. These _people_ , whoever or whatever they were, sounded like monsters. Of course, Gajeel-san looked like one.

"Why did you ask me about your eyes?" she asked, mostly to change the topic for a few moments.

"Cause most people wouldn't notice they're red."

"How?"

"Basic stuff, I can teach you that. Well, I'll have to, won't I?" Gajeel was frowning again, and Levy had the idea that he was regretting not having killed her out of hand in the first place. His next words reassured her slightly, however. "Look, I can't stay much longer. I think you're safer with me than going it alone, but it's your choice. You're not my direct kin—not at that size an' with blue hair—but you're obviously one of the People an' I'll help you if I can. So, what'll it be?"

Levy blinked at him. Both the words—the direct offer of help—and the suddenness had caught her off-guard. But the prospect of being alone in Kyoto—or worse, trying to find some kind of mythical _people_ who knew where—was even more daunting.

"You mean I can stay with you—with the Shinsengumi?"

"Won't be easy. But you've made it twelve years as a servant, so you're tough. The blue hair and the script magic means you're probably really smart. People bring their relatives into the Shinsengumi all the time. Well, not all the time, but it does happen. I'll tell them you're a boy, kind of a second cousin of mine or something—they'll be okay with that. I'll say you're what—fifteen or so?—and they won't believe it 'cause you look about twelve, but everyone lies about their age if they run away from home to join the Wolves of Mibu."

"I'm seventeen," Levy protested.

"Yeah, but that's ridiculous so don't even bother. Think ya can learn to carry a blade? Make yourself useful as a page runnin' messages an' doing chores? Somethin' like that? Come on, kid, I'm tryin' ta give ya a break here."

Gajeel-san's accent got rougher when he wasn't paying attention, Levy noticed. And yet she still, somehow, wanted to trust him. He felt familiar and she had no idea why.

"Okay. You tell me what to do and say and I'll do my best."

"If you get caught out I'll be in deep shit along with you," Gajeel warned her. "The Shinsengumi rules are kind of inflexible that way."

"Oh." Levy hesitated—it would be poor repayment for her life if the man lost his job because she screwed up. Then she stiffened her spine. She wasn't going to mess up. "Don't worry, I won't make you lose your job."

Gajeel-san—or rather, Tani-san, since that was his Shinsengumi name—snorted and seemed to be laughing silently at her. He shook his head.

"You misunderstood, kid. If I screw up I have to commit _seppuku_ —you know, cut my stomach open an' spill my guts? So don't screw up."

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 **[II] - Joining Up**

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Vice Commander Hijikata glanced at Sub-Captain Tani's young cousin with a jaundiced eye. He wasn't unused to kids hoping for a chance at freedom coming to the Shinsengumi to get away from home. At the same time, this kid looked awfully frail for the toughest—and most hated—armed force in the city.

"Alright, Tani. Since it's you asking and the Commander would've been screwed yesterday without you. The kid'll have to billet with you and the Inspectors though."

" _Arigatou gozaimasu, Fukuchō_." (5) Gajeel bowed, and Levy did the same.

"Well, it's on you if he fucks up, but you know that." Hijikata-san exchanged a humourless smile with the sub-captain. He turned his gaze once more on Levy. "Okay, Yukimura, Tani says he's told you the rules, make sure you understand 'em, got that? And frankly, if you put one toe out of line I'll kick you out just to avoid having to kill you later. Got that?"

" _Hai_ ," said Levy, bowing again.

"Welcome to the Shinsengumi, then. Good luck—you'll need it."

Gajeel-san took this as a dismissal, bowed, and led his young "cousin" out of the room. He looked down at Levy.

"Good job, kid, you didn't get us killed."

Levy very much wanted to respond, but she'd been told not to speak unless absolutely necessary and to keep to one-word answers when possible. She settled for a very ironic bow. Gajeel-san laughed.

"You know, you look pretty cute dressed like that."

Levy glared at him. She was wearing a dark blue _hakamashita_ and dark grey _hakama_ , just like Gajeel-san. He'd cut her hair—meaning that it now came just past her shoulders instead of well past her waist—and it was tied up in a boy's pony-tail. Sadly—from a certain point of view—there hadn't been much need to bind up her breasts. Gajeel-san had even bought her a short-sword to wear, although she had strict instructions not to draw it _under any circumstances_. Apparently she held it like a girl, whatever that meant. Levy sighed, and momentarily forgot her orders.

"You mean I look like you," she muttered.

Gajeel-san tossed his head back and laughed.

"Yeah, we match. Give or take a couple of feet!"

Still laughing, he jerked his head in the direction of their room, and she followed him across the courtyard, wondering what on earth would happen next.

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[END]

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 **A/Note:** Please review if you have a moment or two! Even a few words can be very encouraging and let me know what you liked, or even what you didn't care for as much. Or feel free to send me a message here or on tumblr with your comments! Also, reblogs and notes on tumblr are much appreciated. Thank you for reading my story! **\\(^u^)/**

 **Endnotes:**

(1) Traditional loose trousers worn over a kimono or kimono shirt ( _hakamashita_ )

(2) Coat, generally styled to be worn over a kimono and usually open in the front (but held partly closed with ties or other more formal decoration). The Shinsengumi _haori_ was designed to be easily recognized because of the light blue colour and the "mountain" design on the sleeves (white triangles).

(3) By design, the Shogun's government, the _bakufu_ , left most roads in very poor repair. This made it difficult for citizens to move around much. However, the roads between Kyoto (the Imperial Capital), Osaka and Edo were kept repaired and were heavily travelled, making them prime targets for bandits (often _ronin_ —masterless samurai trained in combat but unable to find "acceptable" work). Edo (present-day Tokyo) was the principal city of the Shogunate.

(4) "Old tales" are roughly equivalent to western folklore or fairy tales, but not exactly parallel. The term _oni_ generally refers to a type of _y_ ō _kai_ , a term that in turn refers to a wide variety of supernatural or mythical creatures; ogre is one of the most common translations of _oni_ but not the only one (demon is also used, since _oni_ typically have horns).

(5) "Thank you very much, Vice Commander!"


	3. Keeping Busy—Gajevy of the Shinsengumi

**Author's Note:**

Gajeel has convinced Levy to join the Shinsengumi as an alternative to trying to live homeless on the streets of Kyoto. But what can an undersized girl of seventeen do in the middle of a bunch of burly warrior-types without giving herself away? More importantly, will Gajeel tell her more about the mysterious "People" who she is supposedly related to? And will she ever get to learn more magic?

 **Thank you** to everyone who is reading this story, especially to those who have taken the time to leave reviews and comments on FF, AO3 or tumblr. It means a lot to me. I try to write back to everyone; if I've missed you then be assured it's temporary!

 **Special thanks** to **Shell1331** (tumblr Shell-Senji) for constant support and to **boogey56** for her reviews and for the **NEW COVER ART** for this story!

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 **Chapter 3—Gajevy of the Shinsengumi**

 **Prompt: Day 2 & Day 3**— **Longing & Pillow Talk**

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 **[I]** — **Keeping Busy**

* * *

There was surprisingly little time to talk, and Levy discovered that her new mentor hadn't been kidding about her servant days being good training for her new life as a page for the Shinsengumi. As she was too junior (and allegedly too new to Kyoto) to be allowed to deliver messages, her duties included kitchen duty—prep work and cooking—cleaning, laundry, and lessons. She also ran general errands within the compound and helped out on regular shopping trips. It was a good thing that she was used to being up before dawn and had always had unusual stamina for her size.

In fact, the Shinsengumi day started a little later than at the inn, but Gajeel-san had decided that before dawn was her only decent chance to bathe and train with her short-sword, although the ordering left something to be desired. Strangely, the brutal hours didn't seem to bother Gajeel-san, who was presumably adding an extra hour on to his own busy days.

Fortunately, the whole Shinsengumi compound—which included both the officers' quarters and the regulars' more crowded accommodations—was in an uproar for a few days following the raid on the Ikedaya Inn, making Levy's arrival far less noticeable than it might have been otherwise. The other thing that helped was that Gajeel-san introduced her to the two other lieutenants that he shared a room with.

Yamazaki-san was there when Levy first arrived around mid-afternoon the day after the raid. He was a slight man—or rather, he wasn't tall, which meant he looked slight beside Gajeel-san—and a few years older than most of the other Shinsengumi lieutenants. It turned out that he had qualified as a doctor before joining the police force, and he acted as the Shinsengumi's chief medic.

"Yamazaki! I'm afraid I've stuck us with a new roommate—but the kid's tiny, so no worries."

Yamazaki, who had been writing notes in a journal of some kind, looked up with a neutral expression, which sharpened to something like interest within about ten seconds of surveying Levy. Levy knelt just inside the door and bowed as protocol required. Gajeel-san closed the door behind them and sat down as well, although the way he lounged against the wall was in stark contrast to Yamazaki-san's neat posture.

"It appears that you have brought us greater worries than floor-space, Tani," Yamazaki said softly, once the door was closed.

Gajeel-san shrugged. "She's safer here than on the streets of Kyoto, and I didn't think you'd give her away. No idea whether the Vice Commander caught on or not—and I'm not planning to ask, if you don't mind."

Yamazaki-san—that is, Yamazaki- _sensei_ , since he was a doctor—continued to examine Levy, who began to feel uncomfortable. She was also annoyed with Gajeel-san: he hadn't told her that he was going to _tell_ anyone. Although he hadn't actually done so, of course.

"Most of the captains will figure it out eventually," Yamazaki observed and Gajeel grunted in agreement. "Very well, _boy_ , what is your name?"

Levy almost gave her real name—there was something rather compelling about the man for all of his reserved demeanor—but she caught herself in time. She'd suggested Aoi as a first name, since she was used to answering to that name, but Gajeel-san had been firmly against it. He'd said that since she was trying to hide her blue hair, nothing about her should suggest the colour blue to others.

"I am Yukimura Aki," Levy told Yamazaki with another bow. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Hmm. You told her to say that, Tani? How interesting." Yamaki-sensei looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he just shook his head. "Welcome to the Shinsengumi, Yukimura-kun. On the bright side, I am definitely in need of an assistant, and you seem, ah, _brighter_ than most." (1)

Gajeel-san seemed to relax at that point, although he didn't actually move.

" _Dōmo_ , Yamazaki. What he means, shrimp, is that he'll work you like a dog but you'll learn lots if you keep your eyes and ears open. The kid really needs to learn how to write, Yamazaki."

Again, there was a stillness about Yamazaki-san that suggested he was hearing more than Gajeel-san was saying. He responded with brief nod, however.

"I'll do what I can. But I thought his name was Aki, not Ebi?" (2)

Gajeel-san chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, but he's so tiny, y'know?"

Yamazaki-san ignored the other man this time. "Put your things in that corner, Yukimura-kun. Then come here and show me what you can write, no matter how little. We may as well start now, since you should know at least the basics if you're going to pass for a boy."

" _Arigatou gozaimasu_ , Yamazaki-sensei. I can read more than I can write, but… not very much."

For the first time ever, Levy felt ashamed of her illiteracy. As a girl and a servant it had never been a problem, but her existing skills seemed terribly inadequate for the purpose of assisting this obviously well-educated man. She put her things in the space indicated, including her short-sword. She hoped she wouldn't be expected to write and study while wearing the clumsy thing. Gajeel-san frowned, as she had expected, but Yamazaki-san didn't seem to care one way or the other, and his own swords were sitting on a rack on the wall nearby.

She sat down cross-legged beside her new teacher, took the slate and stylus that Yamazaki-san handed her, and wrote the few words that she knew: light, rice, egg… It occurred to her that she knew more than she had realized, or at least, she must have figured out how to write some of the words that she had learned how to read for shopping purposes. The characters were malformed and very childish, but mostly legible.

Yamazaki-san looked at her sharply. "I thought you said that you could write very little."

Levy bowed. "I haven't tried to write in a long time, Yamazaki-sensei. But I did learn to read certain words, for running errands, and I seem to be able to… figure out?... how the characters should be written. I'm sorry if what I said was misleading."

"Mmm. Well, it's not too surprising, I suppose. And your style needs a lot of work."

"Yes, sensei." Levy hesitated. There was one other word she knew—a simple one—but for some reason she was reluctant to write it. Still, she wanted to do her best. "I can also write the word _iron_."

For some reason, both Yamazaki-sensei and Gajeel-san seemed to become very still—that same, very _attentive_ stillness that Levy had noticed before with the medic when he'd been studying her. Gajeel-san spoke from behind her:

"Can you now? That's very interesting, shrimp. And did you just happen to pick that one up, or did you learn that before—when your dad was around?"

"Before," Levy said automatically, although she hadn't realized that she knew the answer until she spoke. More slowly, she added: "But… I think I was told not to use it? Or be careful with it?" She turned a little so that she could see Gajeel-san without putting her back to Yamazaki-sensei. "That doesn't really make sense, does it?"

Gajeel-san gave her one of his sombre looks, the kind that made him look much more like an _oni_ than a human, somehow.

"It makes loads of sense, kid, but we'll have to talk about it another time. Right, Yamazaki- _sensei_?"

"Yes," responded the medic briefly. "Also, Yukimura-kun, you will not refer to me as _sensei_ except when we are working together here. Otherwise it makes me a target for our enemies. Do you understand? One should always strive to be… unremarkable to others, on the whole. It is—usually—safer that way."

Levy stored up the words, and how they were spoken, in order to consider their full meaning later. She had the distinct impression that there were different layers of warnings being given. Fortunately or unfortunately, she had many other things to ask questions about.

"May I ask why you are called an Inspector, _sensei_?" Gajeel-san had used the term earlier.

Yamazaki-sensei hesitated a moment and then shrugged. "We—my colleague Shimada and I—are involved in collecting information for the Shinsengumi executive. That includes keeping an eye on disciplinary matters within the Shinsengumi."

"Oh. Thank you." Levy reviewed the explanation in her mind. The main point seemed to be that the Shinsengumi spied on everyone, including their own people.

"I have to go," said Gajeel, rising. "How are the captains doing, Yamazaki?"

"I was just writing up my notes when you came in," Yamazaki said dryly. "Okita-san has bruising and cuts, but nothing to explain why he was coughing up blood. He could be sick. I'll be keeping a close eye on him. Maybe Yukimura-kun can help."

"You think?" For some reason Gajeel-san looked uneasy. "Guess it makes sense though. What about Heisuke-san?"

"Tōdō-san is still badly injured," replied Yamazaki, with a reproving look at Gajeel. "It's a serious head wound and he's lucky he's so tough—it would have killed most people. He'll be out of commission for a while yet. Will they give you a squad?"

"Don't know. Our _Oni no Fukuchō_ hasn't said what he's doing yet." (3)

"I take it from your hopeful look that you'd like your young cousin to stay here?"

"Yeah, that would be good, thanks."

Gajeel-san raised a hand and slipped out of the room, moving much faster and far more quietly than his size would suggest possible. Levy suddenly felt bereft. Her mentor might be intimidating, but at least he had invited her here. Yamazaki-sensei was much harder to read and she still didn't know what he thought of her—or about the fact that Gajeel-san wanted him to teach her to write. Most men that she had known simply didn't bother with women at all, except for cooking and serving food, and sex. From what Keiko-san had taught her about sex, it was best avoided if at all possible, although it was an unavoidable consequence of marriage, of course.

"I take it that you do not have family—other than Tani, of course—here in Kyoto?"

"No, sensei. That is, I do not know of any."

"I see. Did Tani tell you who is who in the Shinsengumi?"

" _Hai_. The leader is Commander Kondō Isami, who is a strong warrior. The Deputy Commander is Sannan Keisuke-san, but he is currently injured—his arm, I think?" When Yamazaki-sensei nodded, she continued. "Then Hijikata-san, the Vice Commander, who deals with daily matters and discipline—he is very strict—then there are several Captains. I have memorized their names."

Yamazaki-sensei raised a hand to stop her. "No need. Tell me, though, when did you learn all this?"

"While we were walking here, sensei."

"You have a good memory."

"Yes, sensei." No point in false modesty, Levy decided. She wanted to be valuable to this man so that he would want to help her.

"You have heard me mention Okita Sōji-san, Captain of the First Division, and Tōdō Heisuke-san, Captain of the Eighth Division. Okita-san is known as the Sword-Saint and Tōdō-san is the youngest of the executive officers."

"Yes. They were injured last night." _Was it only last night? Gods I'm tired._

Yamazaki-sensei nodded, and she sensed that he was interested in what she could remember, despite himself. "Alright, tell me about the other captains."

Levy brought the necessary information to mind. She had always loved the way her mind _arranged_ things for her, so that she could easily find something she'd heard once before.

"Nagakura Shinpachi is Captain of the Second Division. He is an excellent swordsman and a strong leader." She hesitated, and then added: "He likes to visit Shimabara more than most." (4)

When Yamazaki-sensei didn't comment or look concerned, Levy was heartened and continued.

"Saitō Hajime-san is Captain of the Third Division. Gajeel-san said that he is quiet and very dangerous." Levy paused again, unsure how much she should be repeating of her erstwhile cousin's explanations. "Gajeel-san is Saitō-san's Sub-Captain, but he often works with Okita-san and Nagakura-san as well."

Just as she finished her sentence, the medic tilted his head, as though hearing something outside.

"Ah, my colleague is back."

Sure enough, the door opened to admit the second-biggest man Levy had ever seen.

"Shimada," Yamazaki said at once, "this is Yukimura Aki, a distant cousin of Tani's. He's going to be sharing the room with us—blame Tani—and acting as a page."

Levy had the impression that Yamazaki was trying to ensure that Shimada-san didn't react badly to finding a stranger in his quarters. It seemed like a sensible precaution with a man Shimada-san's size.

"Ah." Shimada-san eyed her thoughtfully from under heavy brows and then smiled, looking all at once much less intimidating. "Good afternoon, Yukimura-kun. Excuse me while I get some things. I need to bathe and change."

It was true that Shimada-san looked grubbier and less well-dressed than the others. It occurred to Levy that he had been out gathering information in the city. The big man grabbed clean clothes from a small chest and left again.

"Yamazaki-sensei?"

"Yes, he knew you were a girl," Yamazaki responded at once. "But he'll play along like everyone else, since Tani wants him to. Remember this, though: none of us will cover for you if you make an obvious mistake; it could cost our lives. So it is up to you to play your role well. Now, I must return to work. I will give you two words to copy out on the slate while I am busy. We will leave brushes and ink until another day."

* * *

 **[II]—Pillow Talk**

* * *

It was extraordinarily frustrating, but Levy didn't have a chance to learn more about the People, and her mysterious heritage, until several days later. She obeyed Gajeel-san's order implicitly when it came to dealing with anybody other than her roommates, which meant that she spoke very little beyond "yes, sir" and "here it is, sir" during the day, except when she was working for Yamazaki-sensei. Sleeping arrangements were far less trouble than she'd expected, because Shimada-san and Yamazaki-sensei were frequently out all night and she was up before dawn.

Every morning, she and Gajeel-san would go to the dojo to work on her weapon skills. Despite his apparently care-free attitude, Gajeel-san was absolutely focussed when it came to her physical training.

"You have to be able to draw your sword and put it away again without hurting yourself," he told her the first morning. "Otherwise, we're both in a lot of trouble. We'll talk about the other things later, I promise."

Over the course of the five or six days following her arrival, Levy met or ran errands for all of the executive officers of the Shinsengumi other than Sannan-san, who appeared to be something of a recluse. It was evident, however, that each officer had made a point of seeking her out, and she began to realize that suspicion bordering on paranoia characterized most of the higher-ranked Shinsengumi. Okita-san and Saitō-san scared her the most.

Okita-san began by scowling at her—he was unhappy about being consigned to his bed, apparently—and spent most of his time in her company either asking her prying questions or teasing her. He mocked everything she did, especially the way she wore her sword "like a child about to overbalance at any minute". She saw him most days, to bring food and clean his room, and he never failed to conclude her visits by reminding her that her position was precarious:

"You may or may not be Tani's cousin, and I know you're under his protection. But never forget that if you screw up or betray us then we'll have to kill you."

The strangest thing about Okita-san was that she had seen him smile once, when Commander Kondō had come to visit while Levy was tidying the room. It was as if the sun had come out from behind a bank of storm clouds. Okita-san had a dazzling smile, the kind that made people want to smile back for no reason. Sadly, he didn't share that smile Levy.

Saitō-san hadn't said very much to her—he didn't say much to anyone. He was about average height for the Shinsengumi, about five and a half feet tall, and looked slight, like Yamazaki-sensei. But Levy had seen him take apart a practice target in under ten seconds with three methodical swings of his sword, which he seemed to use right- or left-handed with equal facility. Gajeel-san told her that Okita-san and Saitō-san were both very strong and not to mess with them, ever. Because they hadn't been in public at the time, Levy had rolled her eyes at him and told him to lecture somebody who needed to know. He'd laughed and called her "not so dumb after all, for such a tiny thing."

By the end of her first week with the Shinsengumi, Levy had realized that Okita-san and Saitō-san both registered as dangerous to her in the same way as Gajeel-san had from the beginning. The difference was that she no longer felt afraid of Gajeel-san. The only other people who gave her that same sense of danger were Vice Commander Hijikata—who she rarely saw—and Harada Sanosuke-san, the tall, red-haired Captain of the Tenth Division. Harada-san didn't seem to care that everyone stared at his red hair, which he wore in a low pony-tail that hung most of the way down his back. Harada-san was friendlier to Levy than the other captains, and seemed to smile more often as well, but the Tenth Division Captain already had a young relative to act as a page and general errand-boy.

The eighth night that Levy spent with the Shinsengumi was very unusual, because when she set out her thin futon in "her" corner, she realized that she was the only person in the room. It was an excellent opportunity to change her underclothes—the simple white _nagajuban_ and _fundoshi_ (5) that almost everyone wore—without quite so much care as usual. The men had taken the approach that it was up to her to avert her eyes if they were changing (which she did, mostly), but Levy was more cautious, after all the warnings that she'd been given.

She was just starting to drift off to sleep, exhausted as usual, when the door slid open and Gajeel-san came in. He stood in the doorway for a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the deeper gloom—he wasn't carrying a lantern—and then he put away his swords, fetched his over-sized futon, and stretched out on his back near Levy as he usually did. Levy was always impressed by how silent and efficient he could be in almost complete darkness.

"Still awake are you, Shrimp?"

"Yes, Gajeel-san."

"Good. Yamazaki and Shimada will be gone for several hours, if not all night, so we can talk a little about the People now if you want."

Levy sat bolt upright. "Now? Of course!"

"Hush your voice and lie down or we won't be talking about anything except how you nicked your hand this morning when you tried to re-sheath your sword."

The admonition was serious and the incident embarrassing enough that Levy had no desire to hear about it again. She whispered an apology and hurriedly put her head back down on her pillow. Then she turned to face Gajeel-san. He huffed a breath out—in amusement or annoyance she couldn't tell—and then he began to talk, his eyes light red embers in the dark.

"'The People' is how we refer to those of us who use magic in this country, which is to say those who come from one of the four great clans. Not every descendant of the great clans can still use magic, but it is fair to say that anyone who can use magic must have the blood of one of the great clans in them. We are not the same as what humans call the _yōkai_ , but it's fair to say that some of the legends about _yōkai_ are about us. My clan are sometimes confused with the legendary _oni_ —yes, I know you've thought it—and I understand why, but actually I'm a descendant of an even smaller family, whose powers come from the dragons themselves."

Levy had to put both hands over her mouth to prevent her exclamation of surprise from echoing around the room.

" _Dragons_ , Gajeel-san?" Her voice sounded high and incredulous, even to her.

"Believe it or not, Shrimp." He sighed, and there was a note in his voice that Levy could not place at first.

"… You… _miss them_ , Gajeel-san?" Levy blurted out, as it finally clicked for her.

"I said to keep it down, _Aki_ , and I meant it."

"Yes, sir."

There was a long silence, and Levy began to be afraid that Gajeel-san had decided to stop the lesson for the night. And yet… The longing in his voice—for his home, for others of his kind, for something like family—had been palpable. She couldn't see his face, only the shape of his head on his pillow, a darker shadow that was his mass of black hair, and the gleam of red eyes.

"Hmph. Alright. The clan that _we_ call the Oni—the demons—are also relatively rare, although their people are more common than the descendants of the dragons. They typically work with elemental magics as the Dragonfolk do. Then there are the Yōsei, (6) who are the most common and generally the most human-like, although usually lighter and smaller than most humans, with unusual hair, eyes or both."

The red eyes shifted from looking at the ceiling to looking at Levy, who had wisely kept her hands over her mouth. Her soft brown eyes had lightened to a bright hazel, as they tended to do when she was excited about something. Gajeel-san nodded at her.

"Yeah, that'd be your folks, most likely, though writing magic isn't too common. Just for sake of completeness, then, there's also the _Doubutsu no ke_ , the animal shapeshifters, but… I've never seen one and I don't know if they still exist."

"How… could they not exist?"

"The humans have been trying to stamp out magic in the world for a long, long time, Shrimp. Why do you think we're so careful? An' from what I remember about the animal folk, human hunters loved to catch them in their animal forms 'cause they were big. Anyway, it's not like everyone only has kids with their own kind or within their own type, you know? So most people descend from more than one of the great clans these days."

Gajeel-san sighed. Then he reached over and patted Levy's head.

"It's a tough world for the People these days, kid. Worse since the Split. But that's politics an' it'll have to wait for another time."

Levy uttered a faint protest. "But, Gajeel-san—"

"Yeah, I know. An' I promise that you'll learn more soon, okay? Have you spotted any more of us around? Like I said, there are a few… exiles… in Kyoto."

Levy pondered the question. She was pretty sure that she was sharing a room with more than one of the People, but she hated to guess wrong and look stupid. Still, this was Gajeel-san, and even though he teased her, he also seemed to be fond of her for some reason.

"I think… Yamazaki-sensei? And maybe Shimada-san as well?"

"Hmm, you could be right," Gajeel said noncommittally. "Who else then, do you think?"

"Okita-san. But he scares me. I don't think he likes me very much."

"Ah yes." Gajeel-san sounded sad again. "He used to be one of the happiest people you knew. Always up for a scrap, mind you, so that hasn't changed… but he lost a lot, so he did."

"So I was right?" Levy prodded.

"… Who else?"

"Hmph. You aren't really helping, are you? Well, if I'm right about Okita-san, then Saitō-san—he's scary too, but not so mean. Just—cold? And Harada-san. I like him, but I haven't worked for him much."

Gajeel-san yawned ostentatiously.

"Well, you've got a good imagination, Shrimp, under that blue hair o' yours. Should be interesting."

Despite Levy's further protests, all she got was another pat on the head and a firm "shush". Annoyed, but too tired to want to start anything, she finally gave up and said goodnight.

She had a lot to think about.

* * *

 **Endnotes:**

(1) One meaning of "Aki" is "bright". Yamazaki might also be aware of Levy's unusual heritage, in which case he might simply assume she is intelligent just as Gajeel did, based on physical characteristics (size and hair colour).

(2) Ebi is "shrimp" in Japanese (more or less—just go with the simple translation).

(3) _Oni no Fukuchō_ (demon/ogre Vice Commander) was the nickname given to (real life) Shinsengumi officer Hijikata Toshizō because of his ruthless disciplinary measures; he was the second-in-command of the Shinsengumi and eventually its leader during the civil war of 1868-69 between the Shogun's forces and the primarily south and south-western provinces of Japan (who were eventually backed by the Emperor).

(4) Shimabara was a sanctioned red-light district of Kyoto where men went to drink and be entertained by both performers and prostitutes (who might be one and the same, although this was not always the case).

(5) A plain under-kimono and simple underwear (made of folded cloth and ties).

(6) Yōsei are really a Japanese adaptation of the western concept of "fairy". However, the concept suited my story.

* * *

 **A/Note: Thank you for reading.** This story is becoming more complex than intended, but will be completed within the _scope_ of Gajevy Week (not so sure about the dates). Also, NEXT CHAPTER: REVEALS on some FAIRY TAIL characters within the Shinsengumi! Please **review** or leave a **comment** , **like, kudo** or **reblog** as appropriate to the medium (FF, AO3, tumblr). :)

~Impracticaldemon


	4. The Fae of the Shinsengumi

**A/Note:**

The prompt for today (well for Day 4) is Trouble Twins, which was a bit of a problem, since I'm writing about a developing relationship. Therefore, I'm hoping that you will take Part I of this chapter as a _kind of_ "trouble twins" idea.

I am not progressing with Levy and Gajeel's relationship quite as quickly as planned, and can only ask for your patience. The basis for the story requires a bit more development in order for their romance to ring true in this particular setting/AU.

I hope that you enjoy Chapter 4, in which Levy gets herself into hot water and Gajeel has to spill a few more secrets!

~ImpracticalOni

* * *

 **Chapter 4—The Fae of the Shinsengumi**

 **Prompt: Trouble Twins (sort of?)** —Part I

* * *

 **[I]—A Tale of Two Pages**

* * *

If Levy had thought that Gajeel-san would tell her more about the People at the next available moment, she was doomed to disappointment. For one thing, not too long after the Ikedaya raid, the Shinsengumi were called into battle by Kyoto's Military Governor, and Gajeel-san found himself leading Okita-san's squad on behalf of their irascible captain. Okita-san was anything but pleased when the Vice Commander Hijikata declared him unfit for duty, and Yamazaki-san made a point of not sending Levy to his room with food and medicine on the day of the announcement.

Much to Levy's surprise, Hijikata-san assigned her to duty with Saitō-san, noting that the Third Division could use a messenger. Third Division Captain Saitō Hajime had simply bowed his agreement. The First and Second Divisions, led by Gajeel-san and Nagakura-san, would remain with Commander Kondō and the Vice Commander—apparently, this was a standard arrangement. Tōdō-san's Eighth Division were not only missing their captain, but had a number of men out with both injuries and illness, so those who were fit for duty had been distributed between the Sixth and Tenth Divisions to make up the numbers.

After the assembly, Saitō-san had taken a moment to speak with Levy. He'd been as cold and formal as usual, but Levy had found his instructions sensible and easy to understand. It had not escaped her sharp-eyed notice that the Third Division had the greatest number of men uninjured and fit for duty, and she suspected that Saitō-san's methodical—not to say obsessive—approach to neatness and discipline had a great deal to do with it.

"Yukimura-kun," he had said, directing her several paces away from the groups of men discussing the upcoming action.

" _Hai_." Levy had bowed, and tried to quell the slight thread of nervousness that she always felt around the man.

"You have not yet been on active duty. First, as a messenger, it is your duty to escape from danger unless specifically ordered to stand your ground. Second, unless you are in danger, you will act as squad medic—Yamazaki will give you bandages. Third, I have observed that your weapon skills are weak; consequently, you will stay near me at all times unless I order otherwise—I can defend you without raising questions. Do you understand?"

"Yes, captain." Levy tried and failed not to look embarrassed at how poorly she used a sword. _And what was that about failing to raise questions? What questions?_

"I am told that your memory is excellent. This evening you will come to my quarters after dinner and study the map of the area. Yamato-kun will also be attending."

" _Hai_." Yamato-kun was Yamato Daisuke, the other Shinsengumi page. Levy saw him fairly often but hadn't had much chance to speak to him.

"Are your other skills improving?"

The question caught Levy wholly off-guard. She opened her mouth, closed it again, bowed (always a safe way to gain a bit of time), and finally came up with an answer.

"My lessons with Yamazaki-san are going well, Saitō-san."

She thought she saw a hint of approval flicker across the man's impassive face.

"Good. I will see you tonight."

Gajeel-san hadn't been entirely happy about her assignment, but he refused at first to explain why. Eventually—and only to get her to shut up, he said—he told her that Hijikata-san had placed her with his most loyal adherent.

"They probably figure that if you're with me and you screw up, I'll hesitate to take you out. But Saitō's like—well, like ice. Until he trusts you, which could take a million years, he'll cut you down without blinking. You wouldn't be the first."

Levy had shivered, and Gajeel-san had given her a "well _you_ asked" look. In an attempt to make herself feel better, she told her giant mentor that Saitō-san had said that he would defend her, and also that he'd asked how her "other skills" were coming along. To her surprise, Gajeel-san had actually looked a bit relieved.

"Huh. I guess I underestimated the whole clan thing. Well, he used to be a totally stand-up guy, and you can still trust his word, such as it is. I mean, he didn't say he wouldn't kill you. But the fact that he let you know that he knows means a lot."

"Clan thing?"

"Later, Shrimp. Or you figure it out. I'm still surprised His Highness gave you the time of day—and never repeat that, got it? It's just an old, old joke anyway."

"Um… okay?" More things to file away to think about later.

Saitō-san was all cold efficiency after dinner, but Levy found that she enjoyed poring over the maps of Kyoto, the Imperial Palace, and the surrounding area with Yamato-kun. Both pages were quick learners, but since Yamato-kun already knew a lot of the information, Levy was very pleased to find that she could keep up, once Saitō-san gave her directions on map-reading. He didn't comment on Levy's poor literacy skills, but at the same time seemed to take her eidetic memory for granted. After an hour, the pages were told to go do any cleaning up that was needed in the kitchen or common room, and then go to bed.

Levy studied Yamato-kun as they scrubbed pots and then wiped down the floor. It had occurred to her some time ago that the boy was probably one of the People, and she was curious as to whether she could catch a glimpse of the "real" person under the illusion. Gajeel-san had never explained to her why she'd been able to see his red eyes—not really, anyway. After all, just being one of the People clearly wasn't enough, despite what he'd implied. She couldn't see through anybody else's disguises and she was pretty sure that at least some of her guesses were correct.

 _Well, Gajeel told me that my clan, the Yōsei are the most common. So maybe if I imagine Yamato-kun looking a bit like me… I'll just alter the hair… make it blue—I'll try purple or something next…_

A moment later, Levy emitted a startled "eep!" sound and almost dropped the heavy pot that she was about to pass to Yamato-kun to dry. For just a moment, she'd actually seen something! Yamato-kun's hair was a darker, more vibrant blue than Levy's, but that just showed that Levy hadn't made the whole thing up, since she hadn't been thinking about that shade at all.

"Are you okay?" asked Yamato, looking concerned.

Levy nodded quickly. She handed over the pot, stealing another careful look at her colleague before turning away. Dark blue hair. But now what?

When they were done, Yamato-kun accompanied Levy to the short passage—really just a space between buildings where a wall had been taken down—that connected the officers' part of the compound to the regular accommodations. Levy was just starting to wonder what was going on when the other page shoved the hilt of his sword into her solar plexus, making her double over gasping.

"What did you see?" Yamato asked bluntly, bending over as though to help a sick friend.

"Um, well, uh, blue hair?" croaked Levy, tears of pain starting at the corners of her eyes. She really hoped that she hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

The other page seemed to relax slightly and then stared at Levy with a defensive expression. "Are you just trying to make me feel better now?"

"Make you feel better?" Levy echoed, baffled.

"Well, you're letting me see your real hair, without being forced."

Levy mind raced, trying to sort out the possibilities and probabilities. It was the kind of thinking that she was good at—taking information from all over and creating a workable hypothesis, and then refining things. _On the other hand…_

"Yamato-kun," Levy said cautiously, "I'm not sure exactly what you mean. I still have things to learn." _Like, almost everything_.

"Oh!" Yamato-kun seemed shocked. "So you didn't let me know on purpose?"

Levy thought about it.

"I guess in a way I did," she said, finally. "I mean, it was my bad manners to pry, right? And I don't want you to hate me. So, it just made sense." _Plus you've still got your sword out, Yamato-with-blue-hair-kun_.

The boy shook his head, but then seemed to make up his mind to let Levy up from her crouch against the wall of the alleyway.

"Then you need to be a lot more careful. I mean, sure, people used to be more polite before the Split, but now? You have to find out what you can and hide what you can." Seeing Levy's look of confusion, which he apparently interpreted to be distaste, he went on: "It's not a fun way to live, but it's a way to _live_. You know?"

Levy didn't want to trust to luck any longer, so she just nodded, even though it didn't really make sense.

"I'll have to tell Harada-san." Yamato-kun looked disgusted with himself. "Can't wait to see what punishment they'll give us. I don't envy you, that's for sure. Gajeel-san? And you have to report to Saitō-san tomorrow, right? Well—good luck to both of us. Who knows, maybe we'll get to be friends some day?"

"Ah—yeah. That would be good."

Yamato-kun left without another word, fading quickly into the dusk. Levy rubbed gingerly at her midriff. Strangely, it didn't hurt now. Maybe she was getting tougher from all those mornings with Gajeel-san?

* * *

 **[II]—A Lesson in Discretion**

* * *

Levy was awake before dawn as usual the next day. She hadn't found an opportunity to speak with her black-maned mentor the night before, and for once it wasn't just a case of putting off an unpleasant task: none of her roommates had returned before she fell asleep. Their absence had allowed her to formulate several ideas, however, including the thought—based on Gajeel's comments—that Saitō-san had effectively told her that he was also descended from the Yōsei. Given what had happened the evening before, Levy had the feeling that was a pretty significant concession.

Gajeel-san appeared to still be asleep, but as soon as Levy sat up his eyes flicked open.

"Only been here two weeks an' already trouble," he growled. "I thought I told you to keep a _low_ profile, Shrimp?"

Levy swallowed. For some reason, she didn't like disappointing Gajeel-san. He was scary, but he was somehow… _hers_. She spent more time with Yamazaki-sensei, and deeply appreciated how much he was helping her, and Shimada-san was much friendlier than anybody else she'd met so far, but Gajeel-san was special. Not that she'd forgotten how ruthless he'd been at the Ikedaya; he'd harmed and maybe even killed poor Keiko-san, and he'd almost wrenched Levy's arm off when he'd dangled her off the floor. But he'd trusted her with his real name, he'd come looking for her, and he'd given her a home.

"I'm sorry, Gajeel-san." She ducked her head contritely.

"Ehn… at least you were smart enough not to try it on one of the captains," Gajeel replied. Then he smiled—or at least bared his teeth—and his red eyes seemed to glint with amusement. "And you _won_ , so that's a good thing. But of course now our fine Tenth Division Captain is pissed 'cause somebody we don't really know found out about Yamato. Anyway, the Titan says the matter can wait until after the current manoeuvres—doesn't have a choice, really, but I'm guessing the Vice Commander said to put the problem on hold for now."

Levy listened wide-eyed. Then she realized that she was staring at Gajeel-san getting changed and she quickly averted her eyes and retrieved her clothes for the day. The trouble was that he was… easy to stare at. She'd never been very interested in any of the men at the inn, even when Keiko-san had teased her about some of the younger ones; if nothing else, she'd been too busy to pay much attention. But Gajeel-san had a hard, lean body that seemed to be all muscles on top of other muscles, except without looking absurdly thick like another man might, because of his immense height.

"Daydreamin', Shrimp? Smarten up or you won't get a bath this morning an' you'll miss it later."

Levy turned red and headed for the bathhouse at a run. She knew that Gajeel-san would keep an eye out for her. Fortunately, there was nobody there, and she had learned to make the most of the five minutes that she usually allowed herself. On the bright side, the water was quite clean, which was _very_ different than bathing at the inn, where she only got the bathwater after four or five other people—and sometimes more—had used it.

She would have joined Gajeel-san in the dojo as usual when she was done, but he led her back to their room instead. They hadn't been gone very long, but their roommates had risen, dressed and put all the futons away in their absence. Shimada-san gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he left the room. Yamazaki-sensei wished her luck while out on active duty and given her a satchel containing fresh bandages and even a few scraps of paper and a charcoal stick to write with.

"Be careful out there, Ebi-chan," he murmured to her when she thanked him, which left her momentarily speechless. First of all, Yamazaki-san was _not_ prone to making jokes, and secondly, the reference to her true gender made his words seem much more genuine, somehow.

"The flies are going to find a new home in your head at this rate," Gajeel grumbled behind her, and Levy realized that she was standing in the middle of the room with her mouth open. "I need to talk to you about Yamato an' the Titan before we eat an' I turn you over to Saitō-san's tender mercies—if he has any which I kinda doubted there for a while."

Wordlessly, Levy sat cross-legged in front of Gajeel-san, who had obviously been waiting for her.

"You've never seen Harada-san in battle. He's called the Titan partly 'cause he can use any weapon damn near perfectly but prefers the spear since it's got reach and can be thrown as well as swung. He's absolutely loyal to his friends—which doesn't yet include you, I'm afraid—and he loves Yamato-kun like a younger brother."

"I didn't mean to upset anyone," Levy said, feeling a tendril of fear. "I just… you keep throwing out hints and not telling me anything—well, not _enough_!"

Gajeel-san didn't say anything. Then he slowly brought his hands together and softly said the words "Shackles of the Iron Dragon". And without any fuss or fanfare, Levy was suddenly manacled and dangling upside-down from metal chains. Somehow—she had no idea how—she didn't scream. But terror gripped her and she had to keep telling herself that Gajeel-san wouldn't hurt her—he wouldn't.

"The problem with having magic," Gajeel said in an ominously level voice, "is that it takes a lot of restraint and patience _not_ to use it. And right here and right now we _can't_ use it. Those of us in the Shinsengumi understand this. Remember, if one comes under suspicion then everyone does, especially those that appear to be friends. But you can't give yourself away if you don't actually _know_ anything, right?"

"Right," squeaked Levy, since he'd paused for an answer.

"But since you're just as stubborn and boneheaded as several others I could think of around here, I'm going to tell you some stuff that I wanted to wait on."

The chains disappeared, and Levy would have fallen rather heavily, except that Gajeel-san caught her, righted her, and plonked her on her feet. For just a moment she experienced both panic and the unfamiliar feeling of being held. She wasn't sure which disturbed her more—both threatened her carefully-established boundaries.

Levy drew a deep breath and bowed. Bit by bit she was starting to understand that these people—the People who were also members of the Shinsengumi—were truly afraid of something, and that her tendency to want to _know_ things might get her into trouble. As Gajeel-san had told her, she couldn't react to what she didn't know. Once she knew, she and they were more vulnerable.

"Alright," said Gajeel, folding his arms over his chest. "Here's the basics: The People are—loosely speaking—ruled by a King. About three years ago, the King's grandson challenged the King's power and over the course of one day—just _one day_ , Levy-chan—he and his allies defeated the King and his strongest warriors. Those warriors who survived ran for it—admitted defeat for the first time _ever_ —and were forced to find places among humans. Keeping in mind that humans don't like the People and the feeling tends to be mutual."

"The Split," murmured Levy, fascinated, despite the controlled rage—and hint of grief—under Gajeel-san's words.

"Yep. So here we are today, not really knowing who we can trust—not even of our own race, you see?"

"I see," Levy acknowledged.

"Eventually, if we all live long enough, and if you aren't a spy, you'll find out who all the people here really are. But I suggest that you get a lot more powerful before you go poking where you aren't known or wanted."

Levy bowed low, to indicate both agreement and an apology for her impatience.

"Oh—one more thing before we go, kid."

"Yes, um, Tani-san?" Levy actually wiped a drop of sweat off her brow.

"If you ever meet a man called Kazama Chikage, run and don't look back, okay? Though _we_ call him _Laxus_."

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **Endnote:**

(1) _ebi_ means "shrimp"; the honorific "-chan" is usually used only for girls or very young children, whereas "-kun" would be used for a boy or young man/junior (although usage can vary somewhat)

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I was originally going to put more into this chapter, but three thousand words is a good length and allows me to start tying in the really "Fairy Tail AU" aspects of the story. Can you guess who some of the "Shinsengumi" might be? There are some clues already, promise. Next chapter will continue to develop Levy's relationship with Gajeel—the prompt is "First Date"—as well as uncover more of who is who in the zoo-mi. (Sorry.) All notes, reviews, messages, reblogs, kudos and so on are very much appreciated. If you have questions and comments, including constructive criticism, please feel free to message me.

I realize that this story has gotten a little beyond the Gajevy fluff it was intended to be, but I assure you that it will be there very soon now! I just have a tendency to (over?)-develop my background first.


	5. The Fae of the Shinsengumi, Part 2

**Note:**

To those waiting patiently for this update and my Teachings of Demons update, my apologies; February was a very trying month (and I sincerely hope that it failed). Thank you for your continued support as I try to catch up on all my writing!

* * *

In Chapter 5, I've thrown in a bit of history, a bit of Raijinshuu, more magic for Levy, a few more hints on Fairy Tail characters, and an important Fairy Tail/Shinsengumi reveal right toward the end. Also, the first (more visible) stirrings of romance. **Please let me know what you think!**

I would also like to mention **two other stories** :

 **First** , I'd love to get a few more reactions to my newly-completed Mirajane/Freed story ( **First Steps and Beyond** ). Even if you don't think this ship is normally your cup of tea (or coffee), please consider trying the story **—** I'd be very grateful for any feedback (however brief or detailed) on how the characters and the love story are written. If nothing else, you may find that you enjoy the **humour, fluffy stuff** and the **romantic/sexy** final chapter.

 **Second** , for a really fun Gajevy read with a dash of Bickslow and other Fairy Tail shenanigans, please see _A Surreptitious Suitor_ by **Shell1331** on FF (or **shell-senji** on tumblr).

~Impracticaldemon (same name on FF | tumblr | AO3)

* * *

 **Chapter 5—The Fae of the Shinsengumi, Part 2**

 **Prompt: First Date**

* * *

 **[I]—Enemy in Sight**

* * *

Levy's first battle with the Shinsengumi was somewhat anti-climactic. First of all, after receiving a message that the Aizu Military Command wanted them urgently at the Imperial Palace in case of a Chōshu attack, they had spent most of the day wandering around looking for an 'accredited' military unit to follow into battle. Nobody wanted the infamous Wolves of Mibu tagging along with them, so at the end of the day they ended up making camp with a troop of surly Aizu soldiers who turned out to be merely reserves. This meant that when the battle actually started, before dawn the next morning, the Shinsengumi arrived late—and wouldn't have arrived at all except that Hijikata-san lost his temper with the Aizu officers and left without them as soon as cannon-fire could be heard in the distance.

Secondly, because they were late arriving, they missed the main battle entirely, and the Vice Commander assigned Saitō-san to investigate what had happened. Since Levy had been reminded in no uncertain terms to stay glued to the Third Division Captain's side, she could only watch in dismay as Gajeel-san trotted off with the Vice Commander and the First and Second Divisions. Apparently, the executive officers coordinating the Chōshu attack had fled the battlefield, and Hijikata-san was determined to hunt them down.

Levy wasn't entirely sure what else was going on—although she gathered that Harada-san's Tenth Division was being sent to deal with the small part of the rebel army that was still attacking on the other side of the Palace—but her job appeared to be trailing after Saitō-san and learning the finer points of battlefield politics. For example, she learned that a combined Aizu-Satsuma army had defeated the main Chōshu forces, but that the question of who should receive the most credit for the victory had become perhaps more important that the victory itself.

"It is unusual to see the Aizu and the Satsuma cooperate in the first place," Saitō told her, as they stood watching an increasingly heated dispute between the officers of the armies of the two domains. Levy nodded as though she agreed, but as she barely knew even the location of the Aizu and Satsuma domains—and she suspected that Saitō-san knew this—she had the feeling that the captain was instructing her rather than conversing with her.

Suddenly, she felt Saitō-san go completely still at her side. His eyes were tracking the approach of yet another Satsuma officer through the ranks of lesser soldiers, and Levy saw that the man's hair was green and his features distinctly more pointed—and pale—than those of the men around him. Saitō's right hand dropped to Levy's shoulder.

"Don't move. Stay close to me. Don't stare. He will notice you, otherwise." There was a faint emphasis on the word "notice", and Levy immediately lowered her gaze, despite the overwhelming compulsion to examine somebody who was clearly one of the People, and most likely related to her in some distant way.

The green-haired man made his way to the knot of angry Aizu and Satsuma officers, and the voices of the latter abruptly ceased, causing the Aizu men to focus their attention on the newcomer. He seemed to make them uneasy, but his comments were too soft for Levy to hear. Unfortunately, somebody among the Satsuma took advantage of sudden hush to hurl a further insult at the Aizu soldiers:

"Aren't those the Shinsengumi? Are the Aizu too afraid to go into battle without their pet wolves? What honour is there in working with thugs and masterless samurai?"

There was a roar of anger from the Aizu and the tell-tale clinking of swords being loosened in sheathes. Saitō-san raised his hand imperatively and the Shinsengumi present immediately dropped their hands from their weapons. The green-haired man drew his katana with a look of disgust at the idiot who had caused the trouble. Levy wondered if the humans— _when had she started to think like that?_ —could see the faint, disturbing purple and black light that flickered around the blade.

"Stay here. Don't move."

An instant later, Saitō-san blocked the impetuous charge of a frustrated Aizu sub-captain with his still-scabbarded sword.

"Don't," he told the Aizu soldier, in a voice that made even the other Aizu officers edge away. "He is too strong for you."

As soon as the Aizu sub-captain stepped down, Saitō-san turned to the green-haired Satsuma. The man sheathed his own sword and bowed politely, but Levy—who couldn't resist watching—saw him eye the Shinsengumi captain thoughtfully.

"I am Amagiri Kyūju. I regret this disturbance."

"I am Third Division Captain Saitō Hajime of the Shinsengumi. I accept your apology. However, we will not be able to tolerate further insults."

"That is understandable." Amagiri-san raised his voice. "There will be no further insults."

There were low-voiced mutters from both sides at this exchange, but Amagiri-san bowed again, adding:

"I hope that we will not meet as enemies in the future, Captain Saitō."

"That is always to be hoped." Levy thought that Saitō-san's voice seemed even colder than usual, but it was difficult to say.

Saitō-san spent several minutes speaking with the Aizu officers. In fact, Levy noticed that he did not return to her side until well after Amagiri-san of the Satsuma had disappeared from sight. When he did return, his dark blue eyes were hard and his movements betrayed a tension that Levy had never seen in him before. _Wait a minute. Since when did he have blue eyes?_ She peeked again, but Saitō-san's eyes were now the same unreadable black that they usually were. _So where did I get the idea of dark blue?_

After that, there was surprisingly little for Levy or the Third Division to do, so they set about assisting with the wounded. Yamazaki-san had shown up at one point and held an urgent, low-voiced conversation with Saitō-san, who had nodded, murmured a few words in return, and then returned to examining the site of the battle. Levy was surprised, but rather pleased, when Yamazaki-san took the time to come over to speak with her before leaving again.

"Gajeel-san is well. There is no need to worry." Yamazaki-san had given her a slight smile.

"I wasn't worried!"

"Ah. I must have misunderstood your expression earlier, Yukimura-kun." Yamazaki-san had departed on that valedictory note, leaving Levy to wonder how he'd known about her _mild concern_ about Gajeel-san heading off to hunt down dangerous rebel officers who had literally nothing left to lose.

* * *

 **[II]—Set Ablaze**

* * *

The march home seemed endless. Although Levy hadn't actually fought anyone, the day before had been a lot of marching around followed by a broken night's sleep and then the sprint to the Palace this morning and a long, hot day tending to the Aizu wounded and waiting for Hijikata-san and Gajeel-san to come back with news. The Tenth Division, under Harada-san, had actually fought a brief skirmish, but apparently the remaining rebels had turned and fled upon seeing the infamous light blue jackets of the Shinsengumi.

"The Chōshu man who guarded their retreat was a little _unusual_ ," Harada had told Saitō. "Called himself Shiranui Kyō, but he looked awfully familiar somehow if you know what I mean."

Saitō-san had just nodded curtly and agreed that a meeting later was in order. Levy had looked for Yamato-kun, hoping to gather more information from the other page, but he was nowhere to be seen. Harada-san must have noticed, because the tall, red-haired man dropped a big hand on Levy's shoulder and grinned: "Yamato's got other duties right now, Yukimura. Don't worry, you'll see him later."

Levy bowed, clamping down hard on a retort. She might not want to admit it, but she had been worried about Yamato-kun. It just bothered her that everyone else seemed to read her like a book.

Gajeel-san and Nagakura-san weren't with the Shinsengumi for the march home. According to Yamazaki-san—who had reappeared again at some point, looking as neat and composed as ever—the Vice Commander had sent the First and Second Divisions to hunt down a reported band of Chōshu soldiers who had broken away from the main force. Since Saitō-san was some ways ahead of them, speaking in hushed tones with Hijikata-san, Levy had asked a question that had been bothering her for most of the day:

"Where is Kondō-san, Yamazaki-san? I'm surprised the Commander isn't here with us."

"Oh, the Commander had the worst job of anyone," Yamazaki said grimly. "He's been trying to convince the Aizu Military Commissioner that the Shinsengumi need to have some independent authority outside of Kyoto. Let's hope he is successful, because otherwise our First and Second Divisions—and their captains—are completely out of bounds right now, hunting down Chōshu rebels across the countryside."

Levy decided not to ask what would happen to Gajeel-san—and the other men, of course—if they were found to have exceeded their authority. Too many of the Shinsengumi's rules seemed to have a single punishment: death by _seppuku_ , that is, ritual self-disembowelment. Of course, the Aizu's rules might be more lenient by comparison.

Shortly after that, Saitō-san returned to her side. He was not the most comfortable, or comforting companion, but after a while, Levy found that it was surprisingly reassuring to have him there. Even though she understood that he might be ordered to kill her at any time, he had also protected her unstintingly all day, explained things when necessary, and generally treated her with calm acceptance.

Levy was beginning to wonder how much farther she could walk, when a cry up ahead sent her trotting after Saitō-san to the front. They had reached one of the many low ridges surrounding the main part of Kyoto, and Levy felt her jaw drop as she surveyed the scene. Below them, it seemed as though half the city was on fire.

"Some of them did follow through on their plan, then," Saitō said quietly. "The Chōshu have threatened to burn things before."

"You mean—Gajeel-san and our other men could be down there?"

"It is possible, if they were chasing those who set the blaze going." Saitō-san glanced at Hijikata-san, who was scowling blackly down at the growing disaster before them. For an instant—for a moment so short that it could have been her imagination—she saw an odd tattoo stand out around the Vice Commander's right eye. It made him appear even more formidable than usual.

Not surprisingly, they ran—or jogged, rather—the rest of the way. Thank goodness it was mostly downhill, thought Levy, her legs aching with trying to keep up with men who were considerably bigger than she was. Whenever she flagged, she'd try to catch a glimpse of Yamato-kun, since they were both about the same size. Seeing the boy trotting at Harada-san's heels—and occasionally stumbling, too—made Levy feel better.

When they reached the city proper, Hijikata-san sent Yamazaki-san, the two pages, and the few injured soldiers back to the Shinsengumi compound. After that, despite the day just behind them, the rest of the Shinsengumi started toward the fire—being made principally of wood and paper, all of Kyoto could go up in flames.

* * *

 **[III]—Playing With Fire (and Water)**

* * *

Despite her exhaustion, Levy woke immediately when Yamazaki-san touched her shoulder. He had sent her to bed immediately upon their arrival, but warned her that she might be needed later on.

"You've been asleep for an hour," he said as she sat up. She had fallen asleep fully dressed on top of her futon, so there was no risk of indiscretion.

"We're needed?"

"Yes. Everyone who can help is trying to clear a space around the worst of the fire. The wind is coming from the wrong direction, too… The estimate is that ten thousand buildings have been lost so far, but it's really impossible to say."

"Ten _thousand_?!" Levy stood up, wincing as her sore feet and muscles protested the sudden movement.

Yamazaki-san nodded gravely. "I think that the final tally will be far greater than that. I've come to get you because I'm hoping you can help us in a more, ah, _unusual_ way."

Levy eyes widened. "You… you mean… my _writing_?"

"Yes. You should know that Gajeel and I have spoken a little about you. He was hoping that I could help you with more of your studies than just the calligraphy, so to speak. I wanted to wait until we knew you better. However… you have worked hard, complained little, and lived up to your expected potential so far. Also, I believe you are sincerely attached to our Iron Dragon."

Yamazaki-san looked down briefly, and when he looked up again his eyes were a clear amethyst—and he was wearing thin, wire-rimmed glasses. There were other subtle differences in height and build that seemed to gradually imprint themselves on Levy's mind, but she stared at the glasses, wondering why he would hide something so mundane. Her brain supplied the answer almost immediately: glasses were mundane, but still unusual; anything that stood out was worth hiding if possible, since you wanted people's eyes to travel straight past you. It made Levy wonder about Harada-san's bright red hair, though. What was the Tenth Division Captain hiding that stood out more than that?

"Gajeel tells me that you are Levy, and that you have little or no memory of your people. I am sorry for that. I am Laharl. I used to work as an officer in magical law enforcement, prior to the Split. My magic is not quite the same as yours, but there is enough in common that I can help you. Also, one advantage to my background is that I was trained to understand the basics of many types of magic. We don't have enough time for a proper introduction now, I'm afraid. The courtesies are not what they used to be."

"That's what Yamato-kun said," murmured Levy, still very startled by the suddenness of Yamazaki-Laharl-san's offer of trust. "How can I help?"

"Gajeel is being reckless as always—they all are, of course. It is a strain trying not to use magic when you know that you could. But much of what they can do—Gajeel and most of the others that you've guessed about—is designed for combat. Strength and resilience are helpful for fighting fires, of course, but punching things is less useful. The biggest problem right now is water. Kyoto has a lot of rivers nearby—the only reason the fire hasn't gotten even further than it has—but that doesn't help quickly enough with getting water to the right places and especially _onto_ our colleagues.

"You are far less noticeable— _sumimasen_ —than Gajeel, or the Vice Commander, or Harada-san. If I teach you how to infuse your writing with magic better, I think you could help a great deal without giving yourself away as one of the People. Our colleagues would do better if they were drenched with water periodically."

Levy had already straightened her clothes and even picked up her sword. As dire as the situation sounded, the idea that she could help, and maybe prove herself, had captured her full interest. Yamazaki-san shook his head at her weapon, however.

"Leave the sword," he told her. "It is commendable that you remembered it, but although we—the Yōsei—have greatly overcome our inability to handle iron over the centuries, it still weakens our magic and our overall strength and stamina. I'll explain more later—or Gajeel will—but for now, just remember that you will always be weaker around iron… probably."

"Probably?"

"Ah, well you once said that you can conjure iron, which is a very rare thing for us indeed; so it is possible that you are inherently more tolerant than most. But for now, let's just assume that iron may impede you."

Levy nodded obediently. She once again had hundreds of questions that she wanted to ask, but she was about to learn more magic at least—and the sooner the better if Gajeel-san was in danger.

"First, show me what you already know. I've never seen you use your Script magic—at least, it sounds like that kind of magic from what Gajeel said."

Suddenly nervous in front of an audience, Levy traced the characters for **light** onto her palm while invoking the magic aloud. It startled her when the magic appeared as a brilliant white glow rather than a mere glimmer, and she quenched it immediately.

"It… wasn't that bright before, Yamazaki-sensei," she said, automatically addressing him as she had during her writing and quasi-medical lessons.

Her teacher looked unperturbed, even slightly pleased. "That was quite good. I assume that you can form the writing better now than you could two weeks ago—and, of course, just knowing that it is something _real_ is helpful as well. Now, you were obviously taught to trace on your hand—which is often how children are taught—but do you think you could make it work in mid-air?"

Levy concentrated, suddenly determined to make the very most of this unlooked-for opportunity to learn. She imagined herself writing on a large piece of paper with her hand, and felt—really _felt_ —the power infuse it. The characters glowed in the air for a moment, and then the same brilliant light hung mid-air, unsupported and rather impressive.

"Good, although in the future I will show you a stronger technique. Now—since we are running out of time—we will go straight to water. Fortunately, you now know how to write the word. Remember that you must _know_ what you are conjuring. You need to think of the _quality_ of it. At least, that's my best guess."

"I can try. That makes sense to me, somehow…" Levy frowned in concentration, fortunately not seeing her companion's lips twitch just a little at the sight of her small, determined face.

"You may not wish to try this experiment over your futon," Yamazaki suggested mildly.

"Oh!"

Eventually they went outside. There was almost nobody left in the compound anyway. It turned out to be an excellent precaution, as Levy produced a small waterfall too close to her own head and had to leap away. She could only hope that nobody had heard her loud squeak of alarm. Unfortunately, somebody had not only overheard her but seen her as well.

"If you squeal like that when you go into battle your enemies'll die of laughter instead of fright," said a mocking voice from her far right. "I take it there's a crisis, Laharl? Or has the boredom of living with your own dreary personality finally gotten to you and you've lost your mind? Since when do you teach, ah, _special studies_ , out in the open?"

Levy immediately crouched back, frozen like a deer in headlights. She heard Laharl-san sigh deeply. That didn't surprise her, since it appeared that most people sighed deeply when Okita-san was in one of his bad moods; sadly, she had yet to see him in a good mood.

"Shall I introduce you properly?" asked Laharl, purple eyes glimmering in the dim light.

"Might as well do it myself."

Okita-san, Captain of the First Division of the Shinsengumi, strode toward them. Levy did her best to stand up and un-freeze, but she was honestly frightened. As her perceptions of Okita-san shifted—as he allowed her to see him as he really was—she discovered that the almost cat-like emerald eyes were already correct, but that he wasn't as tall quite as he seemed and… She stared. For some reason, she'd envisaged blue hair and purple hair, but never—not once— _pink_ hair. This man had pink hair, for all that it was neatly tied up on the back of his head like many samurai. For some reason, the colour made her smile.

"A smile is an improvement over squawking in terror, I suppose," Okita told her, putting his hands on his hips and appraising her top to bottom. "So tell me, little bluebird, what is your name and who are your folks—and where are they?"

Levy's chin came up in the way that it always did in these kinds of situations.

"I've been told twice now that our people have foregone politeness to stay safe, but since you offered to tell me anyway, it is only proper for you to introduce yourself first, especially since you just barged in here. Um. Sir."

Levy heard Laharl-san clear his throat, but it sounded more like he was trying not to laugh, rather than a warning. Okita-san stared down at her with narrowed eyes—she should not have been disrespectful to the First Division Captain—but then he seemed to shake himself. To Levy's surprise, he grinned at her, and it appeared to be a genuine, friendly grin. On the other hand, his canines were suspiciously long and sharp, which reminded her of Gajeel-san. One of the Dragon clan, then? Was that possible? Her all-too vivid imagination suddenly conjured up the picture of a massive pink dragon, and she had to bring both hands to her face to conceal her expression.

Okita-san stared at her. "You're pretty weird, you know that? First you squeak, then you cower, then you smile, then you get in my face, and now you're what? Hiding?"

Levy didn't get a chance to reply. Okita-san—or whatever his real name was—had spun around, face tilted up as though scenting the air. Laharl-san stepped in front of her a second or two later. Strangely, Levy herself felt no apprehension, even when a massive black figure dropped down over the wall opposite from which Okita-san had entered.

"So much for the low profile, Metalhead," Okita growled in disgust, observing the ease with which the new arrival took a twenty-foot drop without breaking stride.

"How's the fire, _Tani_ -san?" asked Laharl, speaking almost right over the pink-haired man.

Unfortunately, his attempt to bring things back to order completely failed with Levy, who was suddenly feeling the effects of two long days, too little sleep, and too many surprises.

"Gajeel-san! Are you alright? They said that the fire was dangerous because of the wind!" Levy darted around Laharl to stand peering up into the glowing red eyes almost two feet above her. Her eyes travelled with concern over a nearly-continuous array of scrapes and burns from waist to neck.

All three men present froze for a moment. Then Okita-san smirked, Laharl-san turned away slightly with his hand over his mouth, and Gajeel-san put his hands on his hips and scowled.

"You're kidding me, right? After everything I've told you, Shrimp, you have to make me look bad in front of _him_?" Somehow Levy suspected that he was looking at the pink-haired man behind her. "And _you_!" Gajeel-san pointed at his roommate. "Have you lost your mind, Yamazaki?"

"I asked that too," interjected Okita-san, looking pleased. "And don't you two look cute? _Bit_ of a size difference, but why not? I won't judge."

Levy abruptly became aware that she had put her hands on her hips when Gajeel-san had told her off. She could only imagine how funny it must look to the others to see the two of them squaring off like a kitten in front of a mountain lion. Unfortunately, Gajeel-san obviously reached the same conclusion at the same time, because he dropped his hands to his sides in perfect unison with Levy, no doubt amusing Laharl-san and Okita-san further.

There was an explosion of laughter behind her from Okita-san, and even the more reserved Laharl-san seemed to be struggling with his expression.

"Tani-san," replied Laharl, with only the tiniest tremor in his voice, "Yukimura-kun is well suited for helping with the fire. You will last longer if you are hydrated—both within and without. Why are you here, though? Has the fire abated?"

"No," answered Gajeel laconically. "It's gotten worse. The Vice Commander thinks it'll take more than half the city with it unless something's done quickly."

"Then why are you—"

"You're here for me, right Metalhead? Hijikata-san must be feeling pretty stressed to allow me out of bed and into a crisis. Still, you gotta give him some credit: I'm not likely to get hurt."

"Given who we saw today—"

"This isn't up for discussion," snapped Okita-san. "Am I right, Gajeel?"

"Yes. You're right. But I don't want or need the Shrimp involved!"

"I'm Dragneel, by the way, Ebi-chan," the pink-haired man told Levy with a smile that was all mischief. "But you can call me Natsu, okay?"

"Um, yes, Natsu-san? But my name's not Ebi—it's Levy."

"Ohhhh. I thought that sounded weird." Natsu-san winked at Levy, and she felt lips twitch into an involuntary smile.

"Cut it out, Natsu," snarled Gajeel. "City? On fire? _Paper burns really well?_ Is any of this getting through to you, Flame-brain?"

"Yeah, sounds tasty." Natsu-san waved a casual hand at Levy. "But I think Ebi-chan deserves a chance to help out too. So I'll just head out now with Yamazaki to keep an eye on me, and you can bring the kid, okay Tani? Good, glad we agree. See ya!"

With casual grace, Natsu-san waved to Levy and Larharl-san, leapt to the top of the wall, laughed a little, then headed off into the night. The glow of flames was now visible on the horizon.

"Dammit!" Gajeel cursed. "I swear, this is your fault Laharl!"

"No. Hijikata-san sent me for the… boy."

"Fine. That's just fucking fine."

"I need to go after Okita-san. You know how he gets."

The two men regarded each other and then Gajeel nodded reluctantly. "Well, I'd probably feel the same way in his place, I guess. Go ahead. I'll bring the—I'll bring Yukimura."

To Levy's relief, Laharl just nodded and left without any further words. Unlike Natsu-san and Gajeel-san, he didn't bother with the wall—or even with walking. Instead, he brought his hands together, murmured something that Levy couldn't hear, and then disappeared between two swirling circles of energy.

"It's a neat trick," admitted Gajeel. He came over and put a hand on Levy's shoulder. It felt warm and comforting—something that had become familiar over the course of just a couple of weeks. "So, Laharl finally taught you something useful—good. One of us must've really worried him. Coulda been me I guess. But none of us are on our best behaviour right now. Frustrating day, and coming face-to-face with _them_ didn't help, so everyone's a bit wound up—except for—well, never mind that."

"Them?" asked Levy, finally getting a word in edgewise.

"The Raijinshūu. Laxus' lieutenants. You saw Freed, from what Saitō said. Saitō doesn't think he was made—ah, discovered by Freed—this time, but he thinks it's coming. He said you did well."

"But I didn't _do_ anything, Gajeel-san!"

"Tani-san," Gajeel corrected her without heat.

"I'm sorry, Tani-san."

"Anyhow, we haveta get going, right Shrimp? Can you really get me water, by the way, 'cause I'm dying of thirst and the burns are starting to sting a smidge."

Levy thought that the burns probably hurt a lot more than that, but even a fully-human Shinsengumi soldier would probably have said the same—assuming he was still conscious. _Stupid Gajeel_ , she thought to herself, _now that I've found you I'm not going to lose you, am I?_

"Of course I can make water," she said aloud with a slight sniff.

She made a quick gesture with her hands, and the characters for **water** appeared above Gajeel. To Levy's surprise, he looked up _before_ she had completed the spell, and it made her realize that the better-taught mages could sense magic. Something else for her to learn. Meanwhile, Gajeel-san had been doused in a fairly decent amount of water, and was grinning like a madman.

"That's awesome, shorty, thanks! Too bad I don't have a mug on me. Still, I got enough for now and you can always make more, right?"

Levy looked down, unused to receiving such direct praise. "Yes, Gaj—Tani-san."

"Course, it's too bad we'll have to work with the hothead now. Still, better than putting thousands more people onto the streets. And he'll go charging off on his own pretty quickly, no matter what, uh, Hijikata-san tells him."

"Um, Tani-san? Why will Okita-san be useful with the fire?"

Gajeel-san started to say something and then stopped.

"Basically, he doesn't mind fire like other people do. In fact, we used to call him the Salamander, 'cause he liked fire so much it was like he could just soak it right up, you know?"

"I… think I understand, Tani-san." _Well, not really, but if I can create water out of nothing then I guess Okita-san—that is, Natsu-san—can absorb fire. Why not?_

"Come on, Shrimp. We've got a date with a fire, remember?"

"Yes, right!"

"Then let's go be heroes."

Gajeel-san tossed Levy up onto the wall as though she weighed nothing. Once he'd made it over himself, he stood below her and held out his arms. All at once, Levy found herself blushing. This was a little more than she'd bargained for. Gajeel-san didn't seem to have any qualms, however.

"Something wrong, Shrimp? I'm not gonna drop you or anything."

Levy hesitated, looked down at the big ruby-eyed man below, and made up her mind. As Gajeel-san had said, it was time to go be a hero. She leaped down, and felt warm hands pluck her out of the air and then draw her in close to cushion the impact. For a few seconds, the world seemed to stand still, as she felt herself pressed tightly into Gajeel's warm chest. Then she was set on her feet.

"You know, I kind of like this," Gajeel commented, as they headed off toward the fire.

"What's that, Gajeel-san?" Levy sounded a little breathless, even to herself.

The big man grinned down at her as she trotted at his side.

"Well, it's been a long time since I had a hot date," he told her, the grin fading to a smirk.

"W-what?! I don't know about a—" Wait a minute. A date with a _fire_. She groaned aloud, since that was what Gajeel-san was waiting for. "Never mind."

There was a deep chuckle from beside her. Then the nearest edge of the fire was ahead of them and the noise of the flames became deafening. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

[END]

* * *

 **Note:** The battle at the Imperial Palace (August 20, 1864) is usually referred to as the **Kinmon Incident** or **Kinmon Rebellion** (less frequently, the Hamaguri Gate Incident). The **massive fire afterward** , set by Chōshu soldiers fleeing south and whipped up by an unusual wind, **destroyed 28,000 buildings** before being contained. Imagine how bad it would have been without Natsu-san and the rest of the Fairy Tail Shinsengumi!

 **All comments, notes and reviews are much appreciated!** Thank you for reading this story. ^u^


	6. The Spear of the Shinsengumi

**Author's Note:**

Once again, thank you for your continued support! I am almost caught up again on my writing but I acknowledge that this story is still a little behind. On the other hand, I find myself writing longer chapters as my ideas start to come to fruition.

For those who are interested, I note that this **Fairy Tail x Shinsengumi** story has become more of a **Fairy Tail x (Hakuouki) Shinsengumi** story, in the sense that while the story is entirely about **Fairy Tail characters in the historically-based Shinsengumi** , the depiction of the Shinsengumi themselves (and one or two minor events) are taken from the game/anime Hakuouki.

 **Hakuouki** is quite faithful to the history of the Shinsengumi in many ways (it does **not** mess around with character death—bad things happen and **people die** ). However, it incorporates a supernatural element that made it somewhat adaptable to this **Fairy Tail AU**.

On that note, I'd like to thank those of my **Hakuouki fanfic readers** who have read this story and decided to watch Fairy Tail as a result. I can report that they've enjoyed Fairy Tail! (The reverse has also happened, by the way. So thank you also to the **Fairy Tail fans** who have been **kind enough to read my Hakuouki** stories!)

* * *

 **Chapter 6** is more focussed on **Fairy Tail characters** and several important Fairy Tail/Shinsengumi reveals. Also, a bit more romance! **Please let me know what you think!  
** I note that slight differences in the romance aspect of things (compared to canon Fairy Tail) are primarily driven by the setting: this is 1864 Japan; women were barely allowed to learn how to read and write, so it took exceptional courage (and usually exceptional circumstances) for a woman to be able to affect her own future.

 **Final note:** I was undecided whether to use "Lahar" or "Laharl" for the purple-eyed Inspector. After another review of the various Fairy Tail websites and translations, I've decided to use "Lahar" for this chapter. I would appreciate any thoughts or preferences people may have, although it's a relatively minor point.

~Impracticaldemon (same name on FF | tumblr | AO3)

* * *

 **Chapter 6—The Spear of the Shinsengumi**  
 **Prompt: Grief**

* * *

 **[I]—Ice, Wind and …** ** _Sake_** **?**

The great fire that followed the Kinmon Rebellion ended up destroying over twenty-eight thousand houses in Kyoto. Consequently, patrols became even more challenging: as Kyoto's population tried to rebuild there was a great deal of coming and going among the population, making it more difficult to distinguish residents from visitors who might actually be rebels using the turmoil in order to establish false identities within the city. Also, as with any large population center dealing with a disaster, the opportunists—thieves, thugs and swindlers of all kinds—were out in force.

For Levy personally, the period following the Kinmon Rebellion was both busy and satisfying. For one thing, Lahar-san continued her lessons in magic without being prompted, which she enjoyed tremendously. For another thing, as a result of her actions during the fire, several of the Fae members of the Shinsengumi started to introduce themselves to her. She never found out exactly what she did that caused more of the exiles to reveal themselves, but it was evident to her that Okita-san—or rather, Natsu-san—and Saitō-san were instrumental somehow.

One evening, less than a week after the fire, Saitō-san arrived at the door of the room that Levy shared with the three others. Shimada-san had already left on the mysterious business that he and Lahar-san seemed to undertake on a regular basis for the Vice Commander. Lahar-san was just completing Levy's after-dinner lessons with her: they had started making a habit of eating early so that Levy could practice for a short time with little fear of interruption while everyone else was having dinner.

"Excuse me," Levy heard, as she was forming the characters for 'paper' for the fifth time.

Lahar-san casually dismissed Levy's magic with a wave, which was annoying; she was still working on improving her power. "Come in!" he called.

Saitō-san entered and bowed slightly with his usual grave politeness. He exchanged a brief look with Lahar-san and then turned to Levy.

"I wish to introduce myself. It will be more efficient if we need to work together in the future."

Levy rose quickly and bowed. " _Arigatou gozaimasu_ , Saitō-san." (1)

A slight smile touched the man's lips. Lahar-san had told Levy that Saitō-san—in any guise—was a more reserved person than most of the others, so it was better to be too formal than too casual.

"You are Levy of the Yōsei, although your actual family is still unknown. I am also of the Yōsei; my family name is Fullbuster, but you may call me Gray when we are among only our own people or with trusted allies such as Gajeel-san."

There was a snort from the big man. "Thanks, Gray. And I told you to stop with the Gajeel- _san_. Makes me nervous."

Gray-san turned cool eyes on Gajeel-san. Levy thought that both his hair and eyes were a very, very dark blue, but it wasn't easy to tell. Black or midnight blue—it would depend on the light, probably, and what he wanted you to see. He looked almost no different as a Fae than as a human, although Levy saw the fine-boned sharpness about the features that she was coming to associate with the Yōsei.

"As you wish, Gajeel." Gray turned to Lahar. "Are Levy-kun's studies going well, Lahar?" (2)

"Yes. Faster than expected, in fact."

Gray-san turned back to Levy.

"I am pleased that you have joined us, Levy-kun. If I may be of assistance in the future, you may come to me." He nodded to the three of them and left, moving so quickly and quietly that Levy felt as though he had faded away.

"Just as outgoing as ever," commented Gajeel.

"Well I thought it was kind of him to come by," Levy said firmly. "And there's nothing wrong with being polite, either."

"I agree, Levy-kun," said Lahar.

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "You getting all fancy on me now, Shorty?"

Levy tried to glare at him, but he performed such a deep bow—with his long, barely-constrained mane sweeping the floor—that she had to laugh instead. "As if _shrimp_ wasn't bad enough, Gajeel-san! Yamato-kun isn't any bigger and Harada-san doesn't call _him_ names!"

Gajeel-san gave her an odd look then shrugged and grinned. "Well, not even I really want to get into it with the Titan, you know? Not without a reason, anyway—I'm not as crazy as Natsu. So Harada can call his people what he likes."

" _His_ people? Does that mean I'm _yours_?" Levy hadn't meant anything serious by it, but a totally uncharacteristic chuckle from Lahar-san made her reconsider her words and blush. "What?" she demanded, whirling on him.

That proved to be a mistake, of course. Lahar-san raised a thin black brow at her, amethyst eyes as calm as ever.

"I didn't say anything," he stated, with perfect truth. "Perhaps you are the one reading meaning into things?"

"I… no…"

"Weren't you just heading out?" growled Gajeel to Lahar.

"I was. Levy-kun, it is too late to finish your practice now. Tonight, concentrate on simple writing. I've written out a list."

Both Levy and Gajeel looked down at Lahar's small desk. Sure enough, there was a list of neatly written words. Levy sighed. Usually, she loved to learn whatever she could. Tonight she felt oddly keyed up, however, probably because of Gray-san's visit. It just seemed to open up vistas of how the world _could_ be.

"Thank you, Lahar-san. _Konbanwa_." (3) It was amazing how she could go from blushing _for no reason at all_ to 'polite student'. Lahar-san had that effect—the politeness part—on most people. But she could have sworn he had laughed.

As soon as the door slid gently closed behind Lahar-san, Gajeel-san put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. At least, Levy thought that it was meant to be a smile; his sharp canines seemed a little more visible somehow.

"You don't feel like copyin' out words, do ya?" he said, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Ah… Gajeel-san?" Levy had learned to be wary when her mentor's accent started to slip.

"Well, it's been a long week an' I'm due some leave. Let's see if anyone else feels like an evenin' out."

"But—"

"An' you know what else? Go ahead an' call me Gajeel unless we're in refined company—which doesn't include Lahar or Shimada. It won't bother me."

The hand on Levy's shoulder tightened slightly.

"Um, Gajeel-san—I mean, Gajeel?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I _allowed_ to go out?"

Gajeel-san—Gajeel—gave her a confused look but then considered her question more seriously. "No reason why not. I mean, if Gray's decided to approve you—and Flame-brain, I suppose—then you're good. You've been here over a month. You can mostly draw a sword without hurting yourself"—he ignored Levy's protest at this less than stellar praise—"and now that I think about it, the Vice Commander himself cleared you to use magic in the city. For an emergency of course, but that's true for all of us."

"So it's okay?" Levy couldn't help the excitement that leaped into her voice.

Gajeel laughed and yanked her ponytail. "Yep. Let's go."

"Ow!" Levy tugged her hair out of his hand—he'd already let go, of course—and started to redo the tie.

She liked the bit of orange and blue twisted silk that Gajeel had given her a few weeks before to tie on over the plain white cord; he'd said that it matched the Shinsengumi _haori_ and wasn't against the rules. (4) In retrospect, she wondered if Lahar-san had maybe overthought that purely friendly gesture. After all, Harada-san allowed Yamato-kun to wear a red ribbon in _his_ hair. For a moment, a suspicion darted across Levy's mind, but it was dislodged by the sound of Gajeel laughing.

"Doing your hair, huh? What's next, a change of clothes?"

Levy didn't deign to turn around, but she _did_ straighten her neat—and still relatively new— _hakamashita_. (5) It was light blue—again to the match the Shisengumi uniform—and fit her much better than what she'd had when she started. Of course, she was a good needlewoman, so making alterations wasn't a problem, but she was rather fond of the two shirts that she'd been allowed to make herself from new or nearly new cloth.

"Do I bring my sword?" Normally this would be a dumb question, but Gajeel gave her an approving look.

"Good memory, Shrimp. Nah, most people aren't allowed to carry weapons in Shimabara. (6) I can bring mine, but you may as well leave yours behind. Don't want to borrow trouble and have some hothead take a run at you." Once again, Gajeel's smile looked rather… pointy. "The Vice Commander hates the extra paperwork when people decide to hurt themselves on us."

Levy trotted along behind Gajeel as he crossed into the smaller courtyard that adjoined the officers' quarters. As curious as she was about who might be going with them, she didn't want to delay things with questions.

Gajeel stopped outside the room that Harada-san shared with Nagakura-san. There was a murmur of voices from within, which stopped abruptly as Gajeel approached the door.

"Excuse me captains," Gajeel called politely.

Yamato-kun opened the door, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of Levy behind Gajeel. Although Levy had hoped to get to know the other page a bit better, there had been next to no leisure time over the week since the battle and the fire.

"Hey Tani, come on in," said Nagakura, the Second Division Captain. "Bring the kid with you and close the door. We were just talking about you."

Nagakura Shinpachi-san and Tōdō Heisuke-san, the small but fearless Eighth Division Captain, were Harada-san's best friends, as far as Levy had been able to make out over the past few weeks. Tōdō-san was the most cheerful and friendliest of the captains, but he was still in bed with his head injury from the Ikedaya Inn. Lahar-san—being the Shinsengumi medic—had been treating the wound every day, but Levy was honestly surprised that the young captain hadn't died from it.

"Talking about me, or talking about the kid?" asked Gajeel, shoving Levy in ahead of him and sliding shut the door.

Nagakura-san grinned and leaned back against a wall, sipping at a saucer of _sake_. "Both of course. From what I heard—"

Harada-san, sitting cross-legged nearby, smacked the other captain. "Stop it. Since the girl's here now…"

"Yeah, yeah, okay."

"Oh, _girl_ is it," said Gajeel, black brows suddenly pulled down into a tight vee. "We playin' guessing games this evening, _Nagakura_ - _san_?"

"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Metal-head," snarked Nagakura. "The Titan wants to come clean. Figures it's safest for everyone, somehow. Me, I don't care. It's the kid's head on the block if anything goes wrong."

There was a blur of motion, and then the Second Division Captain—who was not a small man—was suddenly dangling from Gajeel's left hand. Levy was pretty sure that everyone present could see the pointed canines and furious red eyes at this point.

"Gajeel-san!" cried Levy, horrified. Yamato-kun looked similarly shocked.

Harada-san just sipped calmly at his own _sake_ and cleared his throat. "Put her down, Gajeel, and do at least _try_ not to rise at every fly—you know better."

 _Her_? Levy stared at the muscular Nagakura-san, who just laughed. Gajeel set him—her—down with a thump that didn't seem to bother the captain in the slightest.

"I'd apologize, Levy-chan," said Harada kindly, "but you might as well get used to her now. I'll start."

Levy, who was standing frozen just inside the door, just nodded. Gajeel stalked back to her side and dropped gracelessly to the floor.

"Sit down, kid."

His flat tone made Levy nervous, but she dutifully knelt beside him.

"I expect that this will come as a surprise to you—or it _should_ —" said Harada calmly, with a flickering glance at Gajeel, who frowned and shook his head, "but there are a few women in the Shinsengumi other than you. I am one of them."

Levy's eyes widened further. Her quick brain had already started assimilating the information about Nagakura-san (and Yamato-kun?), but for some reason she'd stopped short of reaching the obvious conclusion. The "Titan" was a woman? Levy had heard that the Tenth Division Captain had been known to wield a six-foot spear in one hand and a three-foot katana in the other when things got really "interesting" (Gajeel's word, not hers). Since nobody used even a katana one-handed, let alone a spear, Levy had always assumed that this was hyperbole.

Harada-san inclined _her_ head to Levy. "I am Erza. In… better… times, I was sometimes called Titania. You may call me Erza when we are among those of the People who are hidden within the Shinsengumi." The red-head's expression was sad, but still kind.

To Levy's amazement, the captain's long, bright red hair remained the same, but the tall, lean spearman was gradually replaced by a slightly shorter, equally lean but _most definitely female_ warrior. The white and red bandages that Harada-san invariably wore around his chest and mid-section suddenly made a great deal more sense. While it was not entirely uncommon for warriors to wear such bindings, it certainly wasn't standard among the Shinsengumi.

Despite her shock, Levy's first real thought was: _she looks_ **fantastic** _in binding strips and hakama—life is_ **not** _fair_. Her next thought inevitably pulled her eyes over to Nagakura-san, who rarely wore much of anything on his chest and the loosest of sleeveless kimono-jackets.

"I'm Alberona Kana," said Nagakura with a wave and a grin. "You can call me Kana. Nice ta meet ya, Levy-chan."

Levy's mind was reeling. The second woman wore a pretty cloth in dark blue knotted attractively between her breasts, but otherwise she only wore the loose white trousers and knee-high soft boots that Nagakura-san always wore. It was scandalous attire for a woman. It occurred to Levy that she didn't have any real knowledge about what was customary for women of the People.

Kana-san drained another saucer of _sake_ and winked at Levy. Given the rumours that Levy had heard whispered around the barracks over the past several weeks about the exploits of Nagakura-san among the _geisha_ and _oiran_ of Shimabara, it was a little difficult to take in. She could feel her cheeks getting red and tried to stop any further speculation on the matter.

"Manners, Shrimp," muttered Gajeel, just a fraction sourly. "Don't want to upset the _ladies_ an'all."

"Ah-ah-yes, _gomenasai_!" babbled Levy, bowing deeply, her cheeks flushed and her forehead almost touching the floor.

"No worries, kiddo," said Kana with another grin. "Not like Metal-head usually worries about manners too much anyway. But I've heard you're a, uh, _special case_. Or is it just a _case_ Gajeel?" Her eyes twinkled with a knowing look that would have made Levy blush if she hadn't been blushing already.

"Kana! Enough." Erza-san shot a surprisingly hard look at her friend and Kana-san waved a hand in semi-apology.

"I take it you've got one more introduction to go?" Gajeel put in, keeping his eyes carefully on Erza instead of Kana.

"Yes," Erza agreed. "Yamato-kun, as you already know, is one of the Yōsei. But she is also a young woman like you—in fact, a few years younger, since Gajeel said that you were seventeen. I'm afraid that I was very… concerned… when Yamato told me that you had discovered her secret, but Gajeel explained that you had only seen her hair colour, which was the least of things." The formidable red-head's voice was still quite kind. "You have done very well concealing your own secrets, for somebody who is new to so much of this."

"T-thank you," stammered Levy, since it seemed to be appropriate. The truth was that she was feeling overwhelmed. Her eyes went to Yamato-kun, who was looking distinctly anxious.

"I'm Marvell Wendy," the younger page blurted out. Then she ducked her head in a slight bow and went on quickly: "Please call me Wendy. And I'm so sorry for hurting you, Levy-san! The thing is that I didn't do very well acting as a boy when I first arrived here so Erza-san and Kana-san have been teaching me to do better. But… I did try to heal you a little, after."

Levy just nodded, unsure what to say. It hadn't really hurt, after all—although apparently magical healing was involved. It was embarrassing, though, to see that Wendy-chan was barely of an age to be called a young woman—she was perhaps thirteen or fourteen years old—and in reality slightly shorter than Levy. Obviously the girl had good control over her illusions. Of course, Levy hadn't really tried to do more than hide her hair colour and maybe increase her height a tiny bit. And from what Erza-san said, Levy hadn't been recognized as a girl by Wendy-chan.

"Do you want us to go through our names again?" asked Erza, as Levy remained speechless.

"Ah—no," said Levy quickly. " _Arigatou gozaimasu_. My memory is quite good, Erza-san."

"That is what Gray told me. We are very fortunate to have you with us, Levy-chan. Solid Script magic is a very flexible magical discipline; we have no others here who can use it."

Levy found herself relaxing and could even feel some self-confidence return, thanks to Erza-san's praise. She wondered why such a strong leader and warrior was only commanding the Tenth Division and not the First or Second. Then again, Levy still didn't understand how everything worked around here. After all, it had been Erza-san and the Tenth Division that had been sent in to fight the one significant battle undertaken by the Shinsengumi at the Imperial Palace.

"So," Gajeel said in a brusque but somehow less strained tone, "Shimabara? I could use a break and Shrimp hasn't really been out in weeks except for a few errands and that gods-forsaken hike to and from and around the damn Palace."

"I'm in," said Kana immediately, to nobody's surprise.

"Wendy's awfully young," said Erza dubiously.

"Oh, that's okay," replied Wendy, who was starting to look more cheerful now that the adults were getting along—more or less. "I'll go look in on, um, Heisuke-san."

The betraying hesitation before the name hardly came as a surprise. At this point, Levy would have been more surprised by anybody who _wasn't_ one of the People. Shimada Kai-san, her other roommate, seemed quite normal—although very tall—but the fact that he was close friends with Gajeel and Lahar made her doubt that he was really human.

"You goin' to invite the Ice Princess?" Gajeel asked Erza. "He's not exactly a barrel of laughs but as long as Natsu isn't there I don't mind."

Erza-san frowned and the room suddenly felt quieter; even Kana-san tilted her head to look back and forth between the red-head and Gajeel. Then she sighed in a way that Levy thought most men would pay money to see—from what she had heard around the Ikedaya, that is, not to mention the common room and living quarters here.

"One day, you, Natsu and Gray will need to resolve this issue," Erza murmured. "Hard decisions had to be made…"

"I know," Gajeel responded flatly. "And we do okay, right? But the three of us out drinkin' together doesn't always lead to being relaxed."

"No worries," Kana interpolated, rolling her eyes at her two suddenly-serious comrades. "Natsu doesn't have leave to go out and for once he'll obey orders 'cause he knows somebody other than Wendy-chan needs to stay with Heisuke, am I right? So stop pulling the long faces and let's get out of here! Besides, it looks like I may be losing a drinking buddy to other pursuits soon"—she winked again at Levy—"aaaand it's not like I don't know what _you've_ been up to Titania, so _ikezo_! You can stand not to fuss over him for a few hours, you know."

Levy had no idea what Kana-san was talking about by this point, but the Second Division Captain was looking around smugly at several red faces, so obviously her words had meant something to the others. Gajeel "helped" Levy to her feet—which momentarily left the floor—and shortly afterward they were trooping across the inner courtyard to Saitō-san—no, Gray-san's—room. Levy couldn't tell if he actually wanted to go or not, but at any rate he didn't protest. Once again, Levy realized that she would have to wait for another opportunity to speak with Wendy-chan.

* * *

 **[II]** — **Blame it on the Alcohol**

* * *

The evening out was eye-opening for Levy in a few ways. For one thing, Gajeel and Kana-san encouraged her to drink _sake_ for the first time. She had actually _tried_ it before, in fact, out of sheer curiosity—working at the Ikedaya had been educational in certain ways. But she had never really drunk it before, which was quite a different thing altogether.

She was only just getting used to the somehow sweet-heavy-dry taste (she couldn't decide), when Gajeel declared that she had had enough. Kana-san laughed at him for stopping Levy so soon, but Levy was relieved. She knew that it was considered unmanly (so many things were!) to refuse alcohol, but she could feel her perceptions blurring a little. On the other hand, she suddenly realized that she hadn't felt so relaxed in a long, long time. It made her wonder how the others managed to drink so much—unless those were just rumours—and still keep their secrets. A question for another day, perhaps.

The most difficult thing to keep track of was how people _looked_. It was strange, because she had never seen Gajeel as anything other than a big man with a long fall of shaggy black hair and ruby-coloured eyes; she presumed that the eyes, at least, must be concealed from others. And she always saw Lahar-san with purple eyes now and it didn't trouble her. Similarly, Saitō-san—Gray-san, rather—was easy to perceive as having either black hair with a midnight blue gloss or dark blue hair that was more or less black. But Erza-san and Kana-san were a totally different matter. Their appearance flickered and shifted from male to female, which was especially hard on Levy as the alcohol hit her system. Eventually, she gave up and just focussed on the conversation, which was mainly about inconsequentialities, with occasional, veiled, references to the People—specifically those who had been on the winning side of the Split.

Gajeel had cut her off after she'd told her second story about life as a servant at the Ikedaya. Both stories had been funny—even funnier than she remembered—and had been well-received, with even Gray-san's impassive countenance giving way to a slight smile at one point. However, Gajeel had seen the danger in what she was doing, for which she was grateful. They had stayed for a while longer after that, and she had forced herself to start getting used to Erza-san's appearance as a woman, which was easier for her than Kana-san's undeniably female figure and (from Levy's perspective) very masculine behaviour.

She was still thinking about this on the walk back to the Shinsengumi headquarters with Gajeel. She had worried that he would rather stay and drink with Erza-san, Gray-san and Kana-san, but he'd just told her not to be an idiot and that had been that.

"Bit of a long day for you, Shrimp," Gajeel said quietly, as they threaded their way through the still-busy streets of the red-light district. "You obviously made an impression on 'em. I thought it would take longer than it did for you to get to know Harada and Nagakura better, if you know what I mean. Whoa there!"

He reached out a long arm and caught Levy, who had just been knocked sideways by a drunk reveller. Levy ended up carried along for several steps before Gajeel set her down again—he had been too busy glaring after the man who had bumped into her to notice that her feet were several inches off the ground.

"Gajeel-san," Levy began, once they were out of Shimabara and into the almost deserted night-time streets leading out to Mibu and the Shinsengumi compound.

"Tani," Gajeel corrected, without heat.

" _Sumimasen_ , Tani-san," Levy apologized. The _sake_ was really starting to hit her small and totally unaccustomed system. "Why does, um, Harada-san always look so sad? I mean, not that she—oh—he does usually—but um…" Levy trailed off, concepts and prounouns hopelessly confused.

Gajeel gave her a tolerant, understanding look. "Mmmm. You mean, why does he look sad whenever he lets his guard down a bit?" he translated for her.

Levy nodded emphatically and then staggered. "Ahhhh…"

Once again, Gajeel easily caught her before she fell, although this time nobody had caused her sudden sideways lurch.

"Careful there, short stuff!" He laughed a bit, but this time left his arm loosely around her shoulders in case of another stumble. "I should've remembered to stop you sooner, huh?"

Levy was torn between embarrassment for being unsteady and a glow of warmth at being able to walk (or stagger, in her case), together companionably like this with Gajeel. Eventually, it occurred to her that he hadn't actually answered her question, though.

"Um, so, about Er-Harada-san?"

"Oh yeah." Gajeel seemed abstracted, although not at all drunk, despite how much _sake_ he'd managed to put away. "Well"—the arm around Levy tightened slightly, so that she was walking almost against Gajeel's side now—"a lot of bad things happened during the Split. It's funny really; if it'd happened sooner, I might even've been on the wrong side o' the fight. An' Rain Girl too…"

He went silent again, which was frustrating, but Levy was starting to feel rather sleepy, and she didn't want Gajeel to move his arm. She peered up briefly at him, and could tell that his eyes were a little unfocussed, obviously seeing things—or maybe people?—that weren't there. Then his words fully sank in and she felt a flash of alarm. Well, not alarm, obviously, but… something a bit _like_ alarm.

"Who… is… Rain Girl?" Levy asked, carefully pronouncing her words, since her tongue felt a little clumsy right now.

"Huh? Oh." Gajeel huffed softly, and Levy could feel his eyes on her. It didn't matter that she was looking at her feet now—just trying not to stumble, she told herself—she could tell that he was looking at her. "We don't talk about her, so don't, okay? But she was a friend o' mine that Saitō kinda… saved… once. She ended up being very fond of him, if you know what I mean, though I never got to figure out exactly how he felt about it. He hasn't really changed that much since the Split, just gotten quieter."

…And once again the story was left incomplete, since they were approaching the main gate to the compound and there were two guards on duty, as usual. They bowed slightly to Gajeel and smirked a little at the obviously-inebriated page. Gajeel grinned in response.

" _Oyasumi_!" he called back over his shoulder, as he and Levy crossed into the courtyard. (7)

" _Oyasumi,_ Vice-Captain!" one of them replied.

When they got back to their room, Gajeel propped Levy against a wall—which she didn't need… much—and started to get out their futons. Lahar-san and Shimada-san weren't back yet, but then, it was still before midnight.

"So," Levy tried again. She hesitated, unsure now whether to ask about Erza-san or _Rain Girl_. Although it sounded as though the woman, whoever she was, had been interested in Gray not Gajeel. Not that it mattered, but it was good to have things straight with all these new people… _You're jealous,_ a small part of her mind told her. _Am not,_ she told herself, with dignified maturity. Fortunately, Gajeel broke in at this point.

"So…" Gajeel responded, lying down on top of his futon, arms under his head. He'd already put his swords on a stand, although he hadn't changed for bed.

Levy took her cue and lay down as well, although she turned to look at Gajeel. It was surprisingly comfortable to talk together like this, she thought, although even her excellent night-vision couldn't make out his expression very well. It occurred to her belatedly that Gajeel hadn't lit any lanterns.

"Erza is and was very attached to her friends and to the peaceful existence of the People within the fabric of Japanese society," Gajeel said at last. "She took it badly—worse than most, maybe—when Laxus took over, especially since not all her friends were able to escape and not everyone who escaped managed to get away without serious injuries. Heisuke—Tōdō-san to you—was one who isn't quite the same now as he used to be. I'm _really_ not allowed to talk about that and I'm not going to. Rain Girl—Juvia—didn't get away at all."

"Oh!" Levy murmured, distressed.

"I don't think she's dead," Gajeel continued, in the same slightly distant tone, "but the truth is that we just… don't know. In the end, only Erza saw what happened to her, and I think she still blames herself for not rescuing her. But at that point, we knew we were beaten and had to run for it. Wouldn't have gotten away without Titania at our backs, though, and she says that _she_ wouldn't have made it if Juvia hadn't taken a hit for her. The rest of us have gotten a lot stronger since then of course—an' most of us were already strong—but that's the story in a nutshell."

He paused, and Levy saw the red gleam of his eyes disappear as he closed his eyes. Concerned, she moved closer and laid a hand on the muscular forearm closest to her.

"Gajeel?" She cleared her throat. She still had a definite glow in her from the _sake_ , but her speech seemed a little easier—although that could be wishful thinking. "Are you sad about Juvia-san as well? Um, like Erza-san is? Or, or more maybe because she was your friend?"

Gajeel's eyes opened and he turned to look at her.

"Hnh. There's a lot wrapped up in those questions, Shrimp, I can tell. One thing you should know— _especially_ for when you're dealing with Natsu, 'cause he's a lot harder and doesn't laugh the way he used to before the Split—is that those of the Dragon Clan can kind of _smell_ how you're feeling. We just have very good physical senses—hearing, smell, vision, stuff like that"

"Okay," said Levy, puzzled. She didn't think she'd said anything weird.

"First of all, I'm not _exactly_ sad the way Erza is, 'cause I still wasn't a part of things the way she was back then. You see, I—and Juvia—were relative newcomers at the time and we'd had kind of a rocky start with Erza's… well, the People call them Guilds. You might think of it as a village, or… I dunno… affiliated group? But Fairy Tail Guild was different 'cause it was the home of the King. Being allowed to join Fairy Tail Guild was a big deal."

"But you're not all related, are you?" asked Levy, confused.

"Nah. I mean, that's how it works with a lot of Guilds, don't get me wrong, but Fairy Tail was made up of the orphans and the strays for some reason—the best ones, anyway. And that's the thing. For the people who are part of Fairy Tail, it really is their family. Or was. So losing Fairy Tail was very hard on people like Erza—and Natsu, and Gray, and a few others."

Levy found that there were tears in her eyes, probably thanks to the alcohol, since she'd learned a long time ago not to cry too easily. She also noticed that she'd somehow crept even closer to Gajeel, and was gently stroking the corded arm under her fingers. She felt the blood rise in her cheeks and froze, unsure what to do but not wanting to offend or draw attention to herself by snatching her hand away.

To her surprise, Gajeel forestalled any action she might have taken by putting his free hand over hers. He had big hands, and Levy could feel roughened skin and callouses of his palm—as she had before, she reminded herself, during sword-practice and the odd time when he picked her up to move her somewhere (she always objected and he went on doing it anyway). Either way, there was no reason for her to shiver slightly— _was_ there such a thing as a warm shiver?—or for her heart rate to pick up.

"Second of all," Gajeel said calmly, as though nothing at all had happened, "Juvia was—and I really hope still _is_ —a very good friend of mine. She was one of the only decent people in the Guild where I… kind of grew up, I guess you could say. And maybe there was a bit more to it than being friends at one point—but it depends on what you mean. We were never _in love_ with each other—I don't think either of us could even think that way back then. It wasn't that kind of Guild. Power and control was everything and I was _not_ a nice guy."

Once again, Levy found her eyes prickling with tears, and she didn't know why. What she should do of course, was point out to Gajeel that there was no reason on earth that he had to tell her these things. It was rather embarrassing, after all, and surely more for him than for her. _But I wanted to know_ , the annoying, rational side of her protested—or maybe it was actually the drunk side, that was an interesting thought.

Gajeel had fallen silent, but his hand still covered Levy's, pressing her fingers into his arm. Levy was grateful for the darkness, because she knew that her face was bright red. Finally, she got up the courage to say something.

"G-Gajeel? If the place you came from was that bad, then I think you must have cared a lot about Fairy Tail as well; probably just as much as everyone else." Levy swallowed, still blinking back the annoying tears in her eyes. "So you must be sad too. You see, I know what it's like to go from a not-very-good place to a place where you might find friends, and, and somewhere to belong. You see?"

 _I am going to be SO embarrassed in the morning_ , she thought to herself. _Maybe Keiko-san was right about the evils of drink._

The big hand over hers tightened for a moment and then withdrew. Even though the weather was warm, Levy immediately felt colder for the loss.

"Yeah, Levy, I do see. You're a smart kid—sometimes."

"Gajeel…" She wasn't a kid. At seventeen, she was older than a lot of girls who were married and starting families. Not that she was planning to do either, of course.

She almost jumped when Gajeel leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers and lightly touching her hair.

"We've got time, Levy. Don't rush things and mistake gratitude for something else. And I promise I'll explain more about… everything… eventually. But give yourself a chance to settle in before worrying too much about me or any of the others. Okay?"

 _Argh_ … Even in her currently muzzy-headed state, Levy couldn't ignore the implications of Gajeel's words. He seemed to be assuming certain feelings that she wasn't too sure about herself. Or maybe that was his point? Better to be close friends than do or say the wrong thing for the wrong reason? And if they weren't just friends, then she _really_ shouldn't be lying next to him—practically in the same bed!—so… since she had felt perfectly comfortable with everything— _up until now_ , her annoying sober half muttered sarcastically—then obviously they were just friends and…

"Argh!" she said aloud, totally lost. Gajeel let go of her and she rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Confusing isn't it?"

"Oh stop being so, so _irritating_!" snapped Levy.

"Yes ma'am, Shorty."

Annoyingly, that made Levy giggle.

"Get some sleep, kid. If you're as tough as you seem to be, you might not even feel too bad in the morning. You can always hope."

"Okay, Gajeel. _Oyasumi_."

"Yeah, you too."

Levy heard him quietly strip out of his hakama and hakamashita as usual, and tried not to think about it. She'd only gotten partway changed herself when sleep overtook her and she curled up on top of her futon and passed out. If a pair of red eyes watched over her wistfully while she slept, she never found out about it.

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **A/Note:** I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. Just one more to go! When I'm done, I may see if there's interest among my readers for either more about Gajeel and Levy, or side stories featuring the other members of Fairy Tail. Because I do actually know what has happened to each and every one of them. ;)

If you have enjoyed this chapter, or have any comments, a review or message or note would be very much appreciated. Both short notes and long are encouraging. I try to respond to everyone to the greatest extent possible. **~ Impracticaldemon**

* * *

 **End Notes:**

(1) Polite thank you: "Thank you very much."

(2) Although "–chan" is a more common honorific for a girl or very young woman, or between close female friends or family, "–kun" may also be appropriate in a school-, work- or team-type of setting (even though it usually applies to boys or young men).

(3) _Konbanwa_ = "Good evening."

(4) _Haori_ = jacket or coat (open in the front with cloth or decorative ties across the lower chest)

(5) _Hakamashita_ = a kimono designed to be worn with (i.e., tucked into) _hakama_ pants

(6) Shimabara = well-known Kyoto red-light district of the time, authorized by the government

(7) _Oyasumi_ = "Good night." (note: always used in parting, not greeting)


	7. Guide to the Shinsengumi of Fairy Tail

**Chapter 7—The Shinsengumi of Fairy Tail**

 **Author's Note** : It is taking me longer to finish writing the final chapter of this Gajevy story than I had anticipated. In the meantime, I wanted to address the comment that although the characters are entertaining, it isn't easy to keep track of who is who without knowing more about the Shinsengumi. Consequently, this "chapter" is actually a short "cast of characters" that I hope will be both interesting and helpful to those of you who have tried to follow my rapidly-expanding list of players! For what it's worth, I had to do this for my other Shinsengumi-related story (now at 81 chapters) for similar reasons—it's just easier to keep track of what's going on when you know who is who and how they are connected.

All of those listed are real historical characters, although their real life counterparts did not necessarily have the same appearance as described in this story. I note, however, that Hijikata Toshizō was described as being "as handsome as an actor" and had a number of women interested in him. He never married. Moreover, since this story is at least partly a Hakuouki cross-over, many of the physical descriptions and some of the general concepts are taken from that particular Shinsengumi setting, to the extent that they fit in well with Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail remains the major/intended basis for this story.

 **Part I—Shinsengumi**

 **Kondō Isami, Commander** —the current overall leader of the Shinsengumi; Levy has seen him but rarely interacts with him; she doesn't know if he is one of the People

 **Sannan Keisuke, Colonel or Deputy Commander** —the military and tactical advisor and second-in-command of the Shinsengumi; Levy has rarely seen him and knows little about him; he was seriously injured in battle before she arrived and has been reclusive ever since

 **Hijikata Toshizō, Vice Commander** —the day-to-day leader of the Shinsengumi and currently the functional second-in-command; Hijikata is known for being a stern disciplinarian, which has earned him the name of "Oni no Fukuchō" (the Demon Vice Commander); Levy has met him a few times and has mixed feelings—he seems very strict, but also seems to have compassion, although he doesn't let it interfere with the efficient running of the Shinsengumi; Levy now believes him to be one of the People

 **Okita Sōji, First Division Captain** (Dragneel Natsu)—brash, fiery-tempered and more than a little bitter; supposedly used to be a lot more cheerful and easy-going, but Levy hasn't seen much of that; he and Gajeel seem to have a semi-friendly rivalry; Dragon Clan [actual appearance: pink hair, green eyes]

 **Nagakura Shinpachi, Second Division Captain** (Alberona Kana)—cheerful, outgoing and hard-drinking, popular with his (her) soldiers; Levy was shocked to discover that "Nagakura" is actually a woman, and wears almost as little under her illusion spell as "Nagakura" wears in general (which isn't much!); one of the People, probably one of the Yōsei (Fairies, for lack of a better translation); Levy wonders why Nagakura has a reputation for frequenting the higher-priced brothels given her actual gender

 **Saitō Hajime, Third Division Captain** (Fullbuster Gray)—quiet, reserved and clearly one of Hijikata's most trusted officers; generally works well with others and has a good relationship with Gajeel (unknown why); has a slightly strained relationship with Okita/Natsu (unknown why); is cautious, but seems disposed to be kind to Levy; probably one of the Yōsei but may have some Oni (Demon Clan) blood (rumour only because he is a surprisingly powerful fighter for one of the Yōsei) [actual appearance is midnight blue/black hair and eyes]

 **Inoue Genzaborou, Sixth Division Captain** —does not appear to be affiliated with the People, or maybe Levy just can't tell; seems much calmer and more normal than the others, appears older but is probably only in his early thirties

 **Tōdō Heisuke, Eigth Division Captain** —described as generally cheerful and full of energy, but currently still under medical care following a brutal head-wound received at the Ikedaya Inn (where Levy was working in Chapter 1) during the raid; it has been implied that Heisuke (who tends to go by his first name, unlike most people) is one of the People and may have been attacked by one of the People (of the Oni/Demon Clan) at the Ikedaya; Levy has not spoken with Heisuke much because of his serious injury (also, the others seem very protective of their comrade)

 **Harada Sanosuke, Tenth Division Captain** (Scarlet Erza)—tall and friendly, with bright red hair and superb weapon skills; clearly one of Hijikata's most trusted officers; one of the Yōsei Clan like Levy, she keeps her red hair visible because it makes it easier to distract people (by illusion) from her true appearance as a woman; **PAGE** [actual appearance is similar to shown appearance, but female and shorter]

 **Tani Mantaro, Second Division Vice-Captain** (Redfox, Gajeel)—frequently fills in as captain for the other divisions when there are injuries; close friend of his roommates Yamazaki Susumu and Shimada Kai; Dragon Clan (Levy's mentor, despite having hurt her and attacked her foster-mother Keiko-san during the Ikedaya Inn raid) [only the red eyes are concealed]

 **Yamazaki Susumu, Inspector** (Lahar)—one of the Shinsengumi's spies and internal investigators, Yamazaki is a skilled shinobi (similar to a ninja) and also the doctor/medic of the organization; currently teaching Levy magic; member of the Yōsei clan [true appearance has purple eyes]

 **Shimada Kai, Inspector and also Second Division Vice-Captain** —as big as Gajeel and very broad, Shimada is friendly and easy-going; like Gajeel, he is often placed in whatever Division needs him most and he can lead if required; his main job is to work with Yamazaki/Lahar as a spy/investigator; he does not appear to be one of the People, but Gajeel and Lahar seem to speak freely around him so Levy assumes that he is [appearance is black hair and dark brown eyes—quite normal, just very big]

 **Yamato Daisuke, Page to Harada Sanosuke** (Marvell, Wendy)—appears to be about thirteen or fourteen and about two inches taller than Levy; is actually a girl of fourteen and about the same height as Levy (4'8" or 4'9"—note that average height for women in Edo Japan was about 4'10"); although unspecified, Levy believes that Yamato/Wendy is a Yōsei because of her dark blue hair; Levy knows that Wendy has the ability to heal others and has learned how to fight and hit but is quite gentle

 **Yukimura Aki, Page to Yamazaki Susumu (and general)** (Levy, former alias "Aoi" meaning blue; last name and family unknown)

 **Part II—Fairy Tail Guild (Post-Split)**

The **Split** occurred when Dreyar Laxus, the grandson of then Guild Master Dreyar Makarov, successfully attacked and took control of both Fairy Tail Guild and the title of King of the small kingdom containing the Guild. Several Fae (the People) sided with Laxus-sama and some Fae were captured or killed during the brief and violent civil war; the Fae who fought hardest against Laxus-sama (and who weren't captured or killed) eventually retreated and have been in exile ever since. Quite a few are in Kyoto, as the large population makes it easy to blend in. Also, Kyoto is more or less central while still being quite some distance from Fairy Tail Guild.

 **Kazama Chikage** (Dreyar Laxus)—blond and arrogant, Laxus does not change his appearance although he uses a bit of power so that humans find it intimidating but not especially strange; he is searching for the missing Fae of the original Fairy Tail; apparently he showed up at the battle near the Imperial Palace and may or may not have recognized Hijikata Toshizō and Gajeel as Fae (unclear—maybe not)

 **Amagiri Kyūju** (Justine Freed)—lean with long green hair; met with Saitō Hajime (Gray) during the battle near the Imperial Palace—may or may not have identified him; also noticed Levy but likely didn't recognize her as Fae thanks to Gray; he is an Oni (Demon Clan) with very strong powers

 **Shiranui Kyō** (?)—Harada (Erza) mentioned having met another of Laxus' allies, but Levy didn't catch any names or other comments other than the fact that Erza thinks that she may have been identified


	8. The Oath of the Exiles, Part 1

**Author's Note:**

I apologize for the delay, especially when I had/have so many ideas for this story! Apart from anything else, I'm told that there are not, in fact, 36 hours in the day...

I decided to break this chapter into two parts so that I could post the first part this evening. I hope you'll enjoy Levy's adventures as she becomes further initiated into the Exiles and the Shinsengumi.

~Impracticaldemon

* * *

 **The Oath of the Exiles, Part I  
Prompt: Marriage/Living Together**

* * *

Two days after the trip to the red light district, Levy was summoned to Vice Commander Hijikata's office. What surprised and worried her was that Saitō-san came to fetch her rather than Gajeel—in fact, Gajeel was out on patrol in the city with Natsu-san and the First Division. Saitō-san was as impassive as ever, with nothing to be learned from either face or demeanour.

Oddly, while she found that her mind used the names Saitō-san and Gray-san interchangeably enough, Levy had to keep reminding herself that the First Division Captain's name was _Okita_ -san. Something about the gleam in the green eyes always reminded her of the pink hair—and who could forget the pink hair? Ever since the night of the fire, she'd thought of Okita-san as Natsu-san—the man who was summer. Summer and fire. The smell of burning paper and the cries of the injured and bereaved. The citizens of Kyoto feared fire more than any other calamity. Natsu-san, with his strange indifference to fire, had been a true hero to them that night. And yet, his smile was crooked, and it troubled Levy in some way that she couldn't clearly identify.

Her mind snapped back to the present when Saitō-san stopped in front of the Vice Commander's office and knelt politely before asking permission to enter. Levy hurried to follow suit. Shortly after, Saitō-san opened the door and went in, Levy trailing like an obedient puppy at his heels.

The Vice Commander had evidently just turned away from his desk. He glanced at Saitō-san and nodded, before gesturing Levy to a cushion across from him. She took her place and bowed, still not sure what was going on. Saitō-san knelt off to one side, and Levy found that she was glad he hadn't left. Levy didn't know him very well, really, but he was far more familiar than the slightly aloof and reputedly dangerous Hijikata-san.

"Yukimura-kun," said Hijikata, studying her intently with clear, amber-brown eyes, "I understand that you went to Shimabara the other night."

Levy swallowed nervously. Maybe she wasn't supposed to have left the compound after all? Or was going to Shimabara—the red light district—the problem?

"Y-yes, Vice Commander?" Levy didn't like the tremor she could hear in her voice. Old lessons died hard it seemed, and at the Ikedaya it had been better to be subservient to warriors like Hijikata-san than to be shouted at or cuffed. Also… she had somehow come to consider this place a home, and she didn't want to lose another home. Pride stiffened her spine, however, and she added: "Gajeel-san and Captains Nagakura, Saitō and Harada were also there, sir."

"I am aware," the hard-eyed senior officer noted, in clipped tones. "That is why I wish to speak with you. I would have done so sooner, but things have been extremely busy."

"Sorry sir." She wasn't exactly sure why she was apologizing, except that it still seemed safer.

Hijikata-san huffed softly and shook his head at her. "You shouldn't apologize so much, Yukimura-kun. Although it's a refreshing change from the opposite, I'll admit. You aren't here to be disciplined for an infraction, if that's what troubles you. You're here because you've become acquainted with some of the more significant secrets hidden within the Shinsengumi, which unfortunately means that you no longer have freedom of choice in your alliances."

Levy shifted uncomfortably—the last words sounded distinctly ominous. And yet, as a girl raised in Kyoto (well, effectively), she wasn't surprised, either. These days it seemed as though everybody had to choose some kind of loyalty—and then choose whether or not to honour it. She had seen enough, at the inn, to know that not all people stood by their professed choice.

"I think I understand, sir," she said cautiously, waiting to hear more before committing herself.

"In order to stay with the Shinsengumi," Hijikata told her, his voice cool and even, "you must be loyal to the legal government of Japan—and in particular to His Eminence the Shogun— _and_ , given your present knowledge, you must also be loyal to High Lord Makarov, the acknowledged leader of the People in exile. As you have apparently been told, the grandson of Makarov-sama, Laxus the Usurper, has seized Magnolia, the capital city of the People, and holds it and the People's primary Guild against Makarov-sama and the Exiles."

Levy's head was spinning. She barely knew the Shinsengumi, after all, and she knew nothing of the politics of the People. Hijikata-san was obviously one of the People—or an improbably close human ally—but he had not "introduced" himself to her as the others had. Yet he was telling her that she had to make her loyalties known to him and she had a prickly feeling that the consequences of refusing would not be pleasant.

"We're not going to kill you or hurt you," Hijikata said, as though reading her thoughts. "We can erase your memory of us, however." The clear, light-brown eyes met hers steadily, somehow both compassionate and unyielding. She noted the term "us", but let it pass since it wasn't a surprise. "That would mean _all_ of us, of course."

Levy caught the implication and reddened slightly. Gajeel… She didn't want to forget him, even though he hadn't said anything further to her about the unspoken feelings that lay between them (assuming that there were any on his part, which she had begun to doubt).

Hijikata-san seemed to be waiting for her to respond, although he did not appear to be impatient. That in itself underlined the seriousness of her situation. She cleared her throat.

"What… what is required of me, sir?"

The Vice Commander nodded, as if satisfied by her response that she understood the stakes well enough to proceed. Levy wasn't sure that she agreed, but then again, he would know better than she did.

"You will need to give an oath, under binding magic, not to betray your comrades here who are of the People. We never used to do such a thing, but it has become necessary. You do not need to swear a new oath to the Shinsengumi—after all, you did that when you joined us in the first place, and we don't enforce that oath by magic for several reasons, the greatest of which is that the People as a whole are strictly prohibited from using magic against or around humans. That may change one day, I suppose; there may come a time when the Fae and their descendants use magic freely. Fortunately or unfortunately, we're not there yet."

"So I'm here to swear an oath, Vice Commander?" murmured Levy softly, successfully quelling the multitude of questions in her mind and somehow staying focussed on the critical point.

"Or to have your memories removed," responded Hijikata. "Also, I must warn you that the memory magic does not always work and does not always last. In those cases, we are forced to take more drastic action."

Levy ruthlessly crushed her instinctive, rather rebellious desire to demand to know what "drastic action" entailed. Long years of discipline came to her aid. She thought she sensed surprise from the Vice Commander at her restraint and apparent self-command.

"I understand, sir. I will swear the oath rather than have my memories removed. What do I need to do?"

Saitō-san rose, exchanged another brief, wordless glance with the Vice Commander and left.

"Saitō is fetching Yamazaki," explained Hijikata. "While he does, you should decide where your oath-mark will be." He continued immediately, not needing Levy's look of alarmed confusion to remind him that she had no idea what he was talking about. "It is traditional for members of each Guild to wear the symbol of that Guild. We"—for a moment, Hijikata had an odd smile—"here in exile have incorporated this tradition in the oath-taking. It will sting slightly, that's all."

Levy—former servant, current Shinsengumi page and alleged member of the Yōsei of the People—was growing more nervous by the minute. It wasn't the lack of real choice that bothered her—her life had never been easy and she'd rarely had much control over it—it was Gajeel's absence. Gajeel had appeared to trust Saitō-san, or at least respect him, and he'd never complained about the Vice Commander, but… why wasn't he here for something so significant? The big man had watched over her since before she'd gotten here. Despite her concern, she remained silent, thinking through all of the other things she'd been told.

When Saitō-san returned with Yamazaki-san, they were accompanied by Harada-san. Or rather, Erza-san; the woman dropped her masking illusion as soon as she stepped through the door. Somehow, that made Levy happier. Whatever was happening, it wasn't exactly being kept a secret—or at least there were quite a few people involved now, not just Hijikata-san. Moreover, Levy felt better for having another woman present.

" _Konbanwa_ , Levy-chan," said Erza with a smile that appeared slightly forced. "I had hoped to have the chance to explain matters to you before this, but the Vice Commander felt that it would be best to keep to tradition. According to tradition, the Master of the Guild administers the oath and grants the use of the symbol; however, Lord Makarov has worked hard to ensure our safety by keeping his own identity secret, which is why his power has been entrusted to _Hijikata_." Her eyes met Hijikata-san's and the latter inclined his head, apparently undisturbed by the slight censure in Erza-san's tone.

"Well, now that Lahar is here to add the more, ah, stringent requirements to the oath, and Erza is here to ensure the well-being of the initiate, shall we begin?" Without waiting for assent, the man inclined his head politely to Levy. "I am Jellal, descended of the Yōsei and the Oni."

Hijikata-Jellal's long hair rippled from silky black to a deep, unmistakable blue, and the reddish mark that Levy had glimpsed once before became clearly visible, forming a slightly sinister pattern around his right eye. He remained an exceptionally handsome man, and it occurred to Levy that Erza-san thought so as well, for all her current annoyance.

"You should also know," continued Jellal calmly, "that I was not originally a member of Fairy Tail Guild. Erza and I are contracted to be married. It was at her request, as well as Makarov-sama's that I agreed to join the Fairy Tail Exiles and assume the position of the executive officer charged with managing the daily affairs of the Shinsengumi. As a Fae with significant personal power who is essentially unknown to Laxus and his lieutenants, I am a suitable candidate for the role. There are other reasons as well, but they don't need to be discussed at this time."

"It's alright, Levy-chan, I know you must be drowning in information right now, thanks to Jellal's dislike of letting anyone new in on anything, but you'll sort it all out." Erza gave Levy an encouraging smile, her eyes very calm and kind.

"Jellal-san does what he can to protect us," said Saitō—or rather, Gray.

All of the People present had now shed their illusions, although with Yamazaki-san and Saitō-san the changes were significantly less noticeable than with Jellal-san and Erza-san. The woman called the Titan patted Levy's shoulder and nodded to Gray-san.

"I know that, Gray, but still…"

"Where is Gajeel-san?" Levy asked, unable to contain her unease any longer.

"He is on patrol with the First Division," Gray replied at once.

"He could not be here because…" Erza hesitated, and then went on slowly: "He is your sponsor and he seems to be very protective of you. As a full-blood descendant of the Dragon clan, it would cause a significant problem if something were to go wrong and he were to intervene… We've had problems before—"

"—Though not with Gajeel—" Gray put in softly, his expression both harder and colder than usual.

"—When one of the Dragons felt _concern_ for a close friend."

Levy studied each of them in turn, confused. She could sense old wounds under the words, but evidently nobody was going to explain. She had a sudden intuition that it had to do with "Rain Woman"—Juvia, Gajeel had called her—but it was no more than a passing thought, really. There were clearly some things that were still off-limits to her.

"Does he know I'm here, at least?" she asked Erza, with whom she felt the most comfortable of those present. Not that she was uncomfortable with Lahar-san, but his role in this ritual—or whatever it was—didn't reassure her.

"Not exactly," Erza told her. "Gajeel spoke with me yesterday on a number of matters, and he agreed that your situation needed to be resolved more formally—or rather, he agreed that I should discuss your situation with Jellal, as the Acting Master for our Guild. He knew that this was a likely outcome of my discussion with Jellal." Erza frowned, adding: "Jellal is charged with the well-being of all of the Exiles within the Shinsengumi. However he may _feel_ , both the right and the burden of any decision of this kind is his. I judge that you are wise enough, Levy-chan, to know that it is not an enviable role."

"Enviable or not," Jellal put in, his face unreadable, "the final choice was Levy-kun's, and she has made it. We need to move on. Erza, would you show Levy your mark, please?"

Erza immediately shrugged off the light, short-sleeved jacket that she always wore and showed Levy her left shoulder. On it, Levy saw a dark blue tattoo—or something like a tattoo—of something that looked like a stylized striking bird with a barbed tail. But not quite. Levy had to restrain herself from tracing the outline, even though she was not normally a "touching" sort of person after all of her experiences at the inn.

"It's… interesting," she said aloud, trying to match Jellal's matter-of-fact tone. She felt that she managed not too badly. "Erza-san, what do you suggest—where should my mark be?"

The red-haired woman shook her head. "It's a personal decision, Levy-chan. Where do you _imagine_ it? Such feelings are oddly reliable."

Levy shrugged uncomfortably. She wanted it somewhere that it wouldn't be noticeable. Not noticeable but also not too embarrassing to mention in front of all these men.

"Shoulder blade?" she blurted out, her eyes still on Erza, not on the stern Vice Commander.

Erza-san smiled at her. "That's not a problem, but you won't be able to see it easily yourself either."

Levy managed a smile in return. "I don't mind. I just don't want to worry about making a mistake and having people see it."

"That's reasonable, Levy-kun," said Jellal, recalling her attention. "The colour will be white unless you wish otherwise. No? Then we'll begin."

"Yes, Jellal-san." She somehow managed the unfamiliar name, but her mouth had suddenly gone dry.

"This oath will prohibit you from acting against the Exiles within the Shinsengumi," Lahar said from her left, where he was now kneeling beside Gray. "Since most of us here have judged you to be trustworthy without such an oath, I believe that you will be fine. Take your time and try to calm your mind."

"You have shown courage and determination," added Gray, unexpectedly. "There is nothing beyond your resources here."

Far more reassured than she would have expected, Levy closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, allowing the air to fill all the spaces in her lungs, expanding not just her chest but her belly as well. Then she released the breath slowly through her nose, just as Lahar-san had taught her. Her thoughts became less agitated and with a second breath she felt her pulse slow as well.

" _Arigatou gozaimasu_ , Gray-san, Lahar-san." Levy bowed to the two men on her left. Then she bowed to Erza-san, who inclined her head in return. Finally, Levy bowed to the blue-haired man directly in front of her. "I am sorry for the wait, Vice Commander. I am ready now."

Jellal-san nodded, his expression neither welcoming nor discouraging. For just a moment, Levy wondered what it must be like to have to remain constantly aloof—always a leader and never quite a comrade. Strangely, she thought she heard a whisper in return: _It is lonely, little sister. But so it must be._

* * *

[END PART I]

* * *

 **A/Note:** Back to adventures and *definitely* fluffy stuff next time! And oh... so much going in the background, but this story is about Levy and Gajeel, don't worry. :)


	9. The Oath of the Exiles, Part 2

**Author's Note:**

Once again, I have decided to post a short (~2600 word) chapter, rather than wait to complete the whole story. It's providing difficult to get any solid writing done these past few weeks.

This chapter covers the immediate aftermath of Levy's conversation with Vice Commander Hijikata (aka Jellal), and in particular Levy's discussions with Gajeel now that she has formally joined the Guild.

~Impracticaldemon

* * *

 **The Oath of the Exiles, Part II**

 **Prompt: Marriage/Living Together**

* * *

Saitō-san and Yamazaki-san—or rather, Gray-san and Lahar-san—left the Vice Commander's office with Levy. Erza-san stayed to speak with the Vice Commander, which didn't seem to surprise anyone. Levy was very curious about the two of them, now that she knew that they were contracted to be married. After all, a marriage contract was a serious thing, far more important in many ways than the wedding itself, which was more of a party.

When they reached the small inner courtyard frequented by the executive officers, all three of them stopped by common accord. In Levy's case, it was more a question of being deep in thought and automatically coming to a halt when the men did.

"Congratulations, Levy-san," Gray-san said in his usual quiet voice. He bowed a little to her—she hurried to return the bow, as he was one of the most senior captains—and then turned and walked away to his room. Levy sensed that although his face and eyes remained as serious as ever, he was pleased with her.

Even as Gray-san reached the door to his room, which opened onto the courtyard, a big man with long, shaggy black hair came loping toward him. Gajeel was still wearing his blue and white Shinsengumi jacket and iron-reinforced headband, so he must have come right here from his patrol duties. He looked as though he were suppressing the urge to run, and his strides made quick work of the distance between himself and Gray-san.

"Jellal-san timed things as well as usual," murmured Lahar, putting a hand lightly on Levy's shoulder. "He made sure that Gajeel would be finishing up his rounds when you received you mark."

Levy's eyes were fixed on her mentor, who was speaking in low, emphatic tones to Gray-san. She could tell that the captain's responses neither surprised nor pleased Gajeel. Yet, despite a fierce scowl, Gajeel nodded to Gray-san at the end of their brief conversation and parted from him without any notable acrimony.

"Gajeel is handling things well," Lahar noted, sounding pleased. His hand was no longer on Levy's shoulder, and in fact he had moved a step away from his trainee. Levy glanced at him to make sure he wasn't being sarcastic, but he appeared to be serious.

"Watin' for me, are ya?" Gajeel walked up to them and stood glaring down at Laharl.

"It seemed possible that you would stop by," Larhar agreed, "and this place is much more private than the soldiers' compound."

"Hnh." Gajeel finally looked directly at Levy, and he drew in a breath and seemed to make himself let go of his annoyance. "How you doin' Shrimp? Don't mind me, I'm just a little tense 'cause I've been expecting this and wonderin' how it would go."

"I wish you'd been there." Levy clapped a hand over her mouth and felt herself turning red. "I-I mean everyone was great, and Erza-san was there, and nothing bad happened—I'm fine, I swear!—it's just that I guess I'm used to you being around."

"Now _that's_ saying something," noted Laharl, amused. "It's taken me years to be able to say the same."

"Har har. Don't you have some patients waiting for you or somethin'?"

Lahar-san smiled slightly and bowed to Levy. "Congratulations, Levy-chan. You did well."

A moment later, the Shinsengumi's biggest and second-smallest warriors were alone in the pleasant courtyard. Unlike the main practice yard and most of the rest of the land around the two compounds, this area had gardens along the outer walls and greenery planted around a pretty cherry blossom tree in the center, near where they stood. The shade from the tree alleviated some of the heavy August heat.

"I guess I should be congratulatin' ya too, huh?" muttered Gajeel.

"I—think so?" Levy hazarded, unsure of her companion's temper.

"I'm happy that it all went smoothly, at least. An' I'm glad Titania was there—fierce woman, but a good friend for ya."

Levy nodded.

"Guess we should go back to our room. I need ta change and get somethin' ta drink."

"Gajeel…" Levy hesitated. "What's wrong? Why are you—why were you—so anxious?"

A large, heavy hand came down on each of Levy's shoulders. "Well, gee, it might be 'cause if ya'd chosen wrong then they would've killed ya!" Gajeel gave her a short shake. "An' I've put a lotta work inta ya now kid… don't want it to be a waste, do I?"

"But—the memory block?" Levy asked, trying not stagger.

"Yeah, that." Gajeel frowned. "Thing is kid, it's not super-reliable these days, even with the Yōsei like you. It relies in part on an iron-binding and, well, some of us don't mind iron"—he gave an ironic half-bow—"and all of us have had to learn ta live with it."

"Oh, iron's never bothered me at all—" Levy broke off as the implication hit her.

Gajeel gave her another small shake. "Figurin' it out are ya? They already _knew_ that. Lahar would've told them as soon as you told him about conjurin' iron."

Levy was staring blindly into Gajeel's broad chest. They had known all along—Gray-san, Lahar-san, and Jellal-san, even Erza-san— they had known that her options were to swear the oath or die. A spell bound in iron almost certainly wouldn't seal the memory of a Fae who could conjure iron.

"They said I didn't have to die," she heard herself protest aloud, knowing that it was already a moot point, but reluctant to admit that she'd been deliberately tricked and put in peril of her life.

Gajeel shrugged. "They had ta tell ya that, Levy-chan. Otherwise it wasn't a free choice. The oath has to be freely given—that's always the most binding magic, ya know? I mean ya don't but… think about it."

Levy nodded numbly. If the only alternative were death, it was hardly a free choice. And of course it made perfect sense that a promise made under coercion had far less value.

"But now that I know?"

"Doesn't matter now. The promise was freely given, that's all the magic cares about. Remember that: there's a reason that humans don't trust the People. We don't lie and we can't break our promises, but we're damn good at gettin' what we want. Well… the dragon-folk like me an' Natsu tend to hit first and talk later, but the Yōsei and the Oni are known for how well they can spin a story." Gajeel tipped Levy's face up so that he could see her eyes. "The demon-folk are pretty powerful even without trickery, and they rarely care about human lives anyway. But the Yōsei, especially the purebloods, are awesome at magic but not exactly built to take punishment like the rest of us."

The chin in Gajeel's big fingers tilted up a fraction further.

"I am _not_ weak, I'll have you know! I'm much tougher than I look!"

"I know that, Levy-chan. All the magic folks are tougher than they look—and can usually hit harder than ordinary humans, too. But see, I could take apart a human crowd without breaking a sweat." Gajeel seemed to be pulling his accent back together. "You still need to refine your magic. And you can't even _use_ your magic in public without making life ten times more dangerous for yourself in the future—not unless you're very, very careful and a Guild Master gives you permission."

Levy stared at him, processing this along with everything else. "So, just hypothetically, if I found myself outnumbered or outclassed in a fight and used magic to get out, and somebody noticed, I'd be in trouble?"

"Yep. First off, the crowd would be scared and they might unite to tear you apart—a mob's a scary thing, don't kid yourself—and secondly… well, you'd most likely be sentenced to death by the People."

Levy shook herself free of Gajeel's loosened grip, and he didn't try to hold her.

"What is it with you people and _death_?" she demanded angrily. "How about, you know, a few days in jail, or a fine, or something? People—I mean people in general, not _the_ _People_ , gah!—anyway, people make mistakes. It happens."

"Yeah, but the Exiles are being hunted twice over. We don't want humans to remember that we really do exist—at least, the world doesn't seem like a safe enough place for that yet—and we can't let that bastard Laxus and his crowd start to identify magic with the Shinsengumi. Because one _mistake_ with magic could get all of us killed. So"—Levy interrupted him.

"Does it work?"

"The Ban?" Gajeel considered the question seriously. "Yeah, I'd say that it works. It gets pounded into us all our lives and I'm guessing there are a lot of the People who would let themselves die or get injured rather than use magic around humans without permission."

"But what about the man Freed—somebody mentioned that he was an Oni working with Laxus, right?"

Gajeel stared at her sombrely. "Mmm-hmm. What about him?"

"Well, he didn't seem to be hiding his green hair. I mean… that would make people wonder wouldn't it?"

"It's complicated. It's… politics."

"So tell me, then. I mean I'm stuck now, right? A member of this big happy family? By my own free will?"

"Levy…"

Levy was glaring at the ground, fighting back tears. She finally belonged somewhere. She'd been momentarily happy about that. But now it seemed like her life still hung in the balance. After all, she didn't know anything about the politics everyone kept talking about. Maybe she was on the wrong side after all. The man—demon—Freed… She brought his human alias to mind: Amagiri Kyūjyu. Well, she hadn't gotten to study him, obviously, but he had seemed polite and he had actually helped Gray-san to stop the infighting between the Satsuma and the Aizu warriors.

"Yeah, I can almost hear what you're thinking, Levy, and I get it. But, okay, what about us? I mean, you came looking for me didn't you? You must have decided at some point we were okay—or at least a better alternative than the streets. You don't know anything about the other side, but that also means they could be even more ruthless than we are, you know? At some point you have to decide to trust your instincts."

The words tumbled over her, somehow both coherent and incoherent. She closed her eyes against the tears—she had taught herself how not to cry a long time ago, after all. She could hear anger growing in Gajeel's voice, and something else. Levy pushed the unwanted panic away and concentrated. She had often found that understanding the unspoken emotions was more important…

"You were worried about me."

Gajeel stopped in the middle of trying to sort out his next sentence.

"Duh. I mean—of course I was. See, I know you now. And you're pretty good at blending in and saying the right thing. But when it's important, when you care about something, well, you tell it like you see it."

"You thought I might say I wouldn't take the oath?" asked Levy.

"I…" Gajeel stopped and tilted his head up as though scanning the sky for inspiration. "I guess it's a risk analysis thing. Jellal's a straight-up guy, but there's no messing with him. Ah… dammit, Shrimp. It's like this: the percentage of the risk was low, but the consequence of failure was too high."

Levy furrowed her brow. She thought she understood, but Gajeel deserved to have to explain it properly.

"Try that again in real words, Gajeel?"

"Jeez, and you Yōsei are supposed to be so smart!" He took a look at the small, frowning face, and the tightly cross arms. "Okay. I was almost certain that you'd take the oath and join us—so low risk of there being a problem. But if you didn't then you were probably going to die." Gajeel paused again, and then added, very quietly. "Wasn't sure I could live with that."

Levy had to struggle not to respond to that implicit warmth. She had a sudden desire to bury her head in Gajeel's chest; it was embarrassing. There was a short, rather uncomfortable silence.

"That's why you weren't there," Levy said at last, when she could speak easily again.

"Mmm."

"Guess they think you're dangerous, huh?"

"You could say that." Gajeel was studying the sky again. "My history ain't exactly spotless."

Levy remembered Keiko-san's body sprawled on the kitchen floor and the wrenching pain in her arm when Gajeel had dangled her off the floor to question her. Then again, the Shinsengumi had suffered serious injuries as well as three men killed.

"You mean your history with the others? Like Natsu-san?"

"Yeah."

"On the bright side, that's before my time." Levy shook herself, like a puppy shaking off water. "Right. You're right. The people here have trusted me—even if they'll kill me if I screw up—and I've trusted them too. I owe Lahar-san for teaching me. I owe you for looking out for me—and for bringing me here at all."

"You need to be more careful about throwing around obligations like that, Shrimp! Honestly, I keep forgetting how little you know. The People take statements about owing favours awfully seriously—I thought I told you that!"

"Then I guess you'd better teach me more. I'm a good student."

For some reason, they were smiling at each other now. It was embarrassing. A moment later it got worse. Gajeel spun around defensively, but too late, as a sarcastic voice floated over to them.

"Don't you two already have a room? You—"

"Shut it, Flamebrain! Just mind your own business!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I'm trying to do, you know? But—"

"We're leaving, already! Come on, Shrimp, let's go—like you said, you've got lots to learn!" Gajeel gave Levy a small shove and then turned baleful red eyes on Natsu, who was grinning hugely.

Levy wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she had caught enough of it to want to leave just as much as Gajeel. She was quite sure that she didn't want to spend any more time under Natsu-san's sharp green eyes. Plus, hadn't somebody mentioned that all the dragon-folk had very keen senses? Who knew how long the pink-haired man had been listening.

Gajeel, for his part, wasn't all that concerned about what Natsu might have heard, but the guy had a damn good nose, even for a Dragon, and noses were far more accurate at reading emotions then people realized. Problem was, ever since the Split, and Lucy's trauma, Natsu hadn't been the same. Not that tact and sensitivity had ever been a big part of the Dragon-clan skill-set, but in the past Natsu had always been one of the kindest people in the Guild; now, he sometimes let bitterness get in the way. Gajeel decided that he'd break the rule against brawling before allowing Natsu to continue with his unwelcome teasing.

"Oy—Metalhead!"

Gajeel paused at the entrance to the courtyard, gritting his teeth and feeling his hold on his temper slip. This had better be important… He jerked his head at Levy to let her know that she should keep going, and then scowled back over his shoulder at Natsu. "What?"

Natsu grinned at him. "Commander Kondō says all captains have to be at lunch today in the meeting room for some important announcements. He mentioned you specifically, so you'd better hurry. See you then!"

* * *

 **[END of PART II]**

* * *

 **A/Note:** I hope you enjoyed this "part-chapter". Comments and reviews are always welcome. I'm still hoping to post the rest of the chapter this weekend!


	10. The Oath of the Exiles, Part 3

**Author's Note:**

Still not the final chapter!

When important announcements are made by the Shinsengumi's Commander, Isami Kondo, there are repercussions for Gajeel and Levy.  
Also, Levy and Wendy finally get to have a proper heart-to-heart.

 _~Impracticaldemon_

* * *

 **The Oath of the Exiles, Part III**

 **Prompt: Marriage/Living Together**

* * *

The pages were asked to serve lunch that day, which was a tacit invitation to be present for whatever the big announcement was. Fortunately, Wendy and Levy worked very well together: Wendy knew who liked what and where everything was (although Levy almost had all that sorted out now); Levy was a skilled server from her long years at the inn. They were kept busy throughout the first part of the meal, since several of the vice-captains were there as well as the captains, and even Yamazaki-san and Shimada-san—Levy's roommates—were there.

Once everyone had been served, the two pages were allowed to sit down with their own meals in a corner by the door. Normally they would have eaten in the hallway outside, so Levy enjoyed the chance to watch the various officers interact, as well as a rare opportunity to see the Commander, Kondō Isami, together with Deputy Commander Sannan Kesiuke and Vice Commander Hijikata. Naturally, she speculated on whether either Kondō-san or Sannan-san were members of the People, but she knew better now than to try to "see" through any disguises. Both the Commander and the Deputy Commander had unusually light hazel-brown eyes, but such colouring was not unheard of and they both seemed quite normal otherwise.

"With our success at the Ikedaya Inn, and our loyal service during the recent rebellion," Commander Kondō began, "we are finally getting the recognition from the Aizu higher-ups that we've been hoping for. Our prompt and life-saving services during the Great Fire have also been commended. There are two things in particular to mention in this regard: first, I have reward money to distribute among you"—he had to pause as there was a pleased stir from the officers—"and second, our jurisdiction has been expanded so that we can pursue fugitives outside the borders of Kyoto and keep a closer watch on the road to Osaka to the south."

Kondō-san smiled at the quick rise of murmurs—these veterans knew that the second point granted them a significant concession, but also presented them with an obvious problem. After a few moments, Sannan-san cleared his throat and glared around the room through his rather ominous-looking glasses. Levy couldn't have explained what was so ominous about a regular pair of round-rimmed, wire-framed spectacles, but there it was. The men (and women) quieted immediately.

"Naturally, we are aware that we need more men in order to fulfil our expanded role," Kondō said, answering the question on everyone's minds. "That was understood and we have even been given funds with which to recruit and pay new warriors. Hijikata and I will be primarily responsible for the recruiting; on that note, Tōdō-kun will be travelling to Edo in the near future to start scouting out possibilities, and I will be joining him there about a month later to review the candidates."

Levy's eyes were immediately drawn to the scowl on Natsu-san's—that is, Okita-san's—face. He made no secret of his anger, but he had apparently been briefed earlier, because he said nothing, although his sentiments were clear from the way that he abused both his chopsticks and his meal. In fact, Okita-san was usually a heavy eater, but Levy had noticed that he'd been eating less and less recently. It was odd, now that she thought about it.

"Should be a fun trip!" Tōdō Heisuke said cheerfully, either ignoring or unaware of Okita's deep frown. He was still recovering from the battle at the Ikedaya Inn two months ago, but the savage wound to his forehead had almost healed.

Levy assumed that Yamazaki-san had spoken to the Commander about Tōdō-san's medical condition. What interested Levy, however, was the suspicion, based on a number of recent clues, that Tōdō-san was another of the Shinsengumi's female warriors. She was already certain that the Eighth Division Captain was one of the People, presumably of the Yōsei Clan given his (or her) slight stature. Tōdō-san was only a few scant inches taller than Levy and not especially burly either. Gajeel had once told her that Tōdō-san's greatest assets were his surprising toughness and flexibility—his _jujutsu_ skills were extremely good, apparently—in addition to complete fearlessness in battle.

"We call him Master Forerunner," Gajeel had commented, with a laugh. "He has a knack for getting into scrapes by charging in to help whenever an' whoever he can—he an' Flamebrain give Jellal fits by leapin' before they look. Things sure have changed…" Gajeel had refused to say any more about Tōdō-san after that, however.

Levy stole a look at Gajeel, who was eating calmly in the row behind the captains, his strange red eyes fixed on his food. Looking at him hurt, a little. He had refused to talk to Levy at all as they had hustled back to the soldiers' compound, and Levy didn't know what to make of things. When they had been talking in the inner courtyard—before Okita-san had interrupted—it had seemed like maybe they were reaching some kind of… understanding? But she still wasn't sure. Either way, Levy's hope that being more fully inducted into the Exiles would cause Gajeel to be more open with her was still unfulfilled. For reasons that she still didn't want to examine too closely, she was tiring rapidly of Gajeel treating her—mostly—as some kind of young relative who wasn't quite ready for adult conversation. She sighed quietly and looked up to find Wendy's gentle eyes on her.

"Um, Yukimura? Are you alright?" Wendy whispered.

"Perfectly fine, Yamato," Levy assured her. "Just struggling to follow what's going on. I don't know all the officers and other stuff like you do." Wendy regarded her thoughtfully, but let her statements go unchallenged.

Both pages were summoned by Kondō-san at that moment, and were sent in search of decent sake. When they returned, they were busy for a few minutes distributing and filling cups, while the captains and immediate subordinates discussed the upcoming recruitment with mingled excitement and concern. The general consensus seemed to be that more soldiers was good, but having a bunch of unknown people around wasn't so good.

"Now," Kondō said, once everyone had drinks. I have a few promotions to announce, which is why we are having this excellent sake in the middle of the day." There were a few chuckles, since the alcohol was as cheap as they could find it, due to tight budgets. Kondō's words had gotten everyone's attention, though. "First, I would like to congratulate Yukimura Aki-kun for being accepted as a full member of the Shinsengumi." The Commander smiled kindly at Levy—he was a much warmer man than either of his immediate subordinates. "You will be pleased to know, Yukimura-kun, that you are now entitled to a stipend in addition to your room and board."

Levy was surprised as well as pleased by Kondō-san's words, since she had never been paid for her work before. Even though the stipend might be a measure of rice rather than hard currency, it was something of which to be proud. At the same time, she found being the center of attention extremely unnerving. She bowed deeply and stammered out her thanks. There were chuckles all around, and Levy heard Okita-san quietly ask Saitō-san if the promotion meant that she could now draw her sword without injury. Levy tensed, since that was a dangerous topic around men who didn't know her secret. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gajeel straighten and glare at Okita-san. Fortunately, nobody else overheard, and Saitō-san seemed to ignore the comment altogether.

"Ah, now, as for the captains' positions," Kondō said, when the brief noise died down. "The three of us"—he indicated himself, Sannan and Hijikata—"have decided that it would be best to have most of our officers' positions filled _before_ beginning recruiting, as long as we have people for the jobs. Therefore, we have selected Matsubara Chūji, our _jujutsu_ instructor, to be Fourth Division Captain; Takeda Kanryūsai will be Fifth Division Captain and adviser in military strategies; and Tani Sanjūrō will become Seventh Division Captain."

There was a short moment of silence, while everyone present considered the appointments, and then a flurry of comments and congratulations. Levy had automatically turned to look at Gajeel when she had heard his Shinsengumi name, and she couldn't help an abbreviated wave, which made the big man roll his eyes before turning to exchange compliments with his neighbours. Levy felt Wendy tug at her sleeve.

"Um, Aki-kun?"

"Yes, Daisuke-kun?" Levy looked in surprise at her colleague, who sounded worried. "What's wrong?"

"Um, well, you are grinning rather broadly—well, not broadly exactly but, ah, _fondly_? I don't mean to offend, and of course everyone knows that you would be proud of your cousin's promotion, but, ah…" Wendy trailed, off, obviously embarrassed.

Levy realized that she was smiling at Gajeel with perhaps too much admiration. In fact, she suspected that the slight motion she saw from Yamazaki-san was a gesture to _tone it down_. She felt herself turn red and immediately turned away from Gajeel to address a few innocuous comments to Wendy. The fact that they were both flustered made her first statement less than politic:

"So Takeda-san will be a captain then? I don't think he's very well-liked."

Wendy shushed her and looked around quickly, eyes wide. Levy felt as though her flush might become permanent.

"Ah, b-but I don't really know much, after all," she stammered quickly, on the off chance that the very prickly and overly-inquisitive new Fifth Division Captain had heard her. He seemed to be deep in conversation with Kondō-san, fortunately.

"Matsubara-san is a good man," Levy put in just as hurriedly. "We won't train with him, of course—since we have Harada-san and, um, Tani-san—but he is always very kind when I do chores with him or need to run messages to him."

Levy shot a furtive glance at the _jujutsu_ instructor and new Fourth Division Captain. Well, everyone else was covertly watching the new captains too, so that had to be okay. He was another big man, built along the same lines as Gajeel and Shimada-san, and Levy realized that like Harada-san he only carried one sword—a heavy _katana_ —instead of a _daisho_ made up of paired longer and shorter swords. Of course, if he was an expert in hand-to-hand fighting, he probably had resources apart from weapons. Still, Levy felt the same prickling thought as always: _is he one of the people?_

Eventually, lunch was over, and the pages started the heavy chore of cleaning up. Today they were being aided and supervised by Inoue Genzabōro, Captain of the Sixth Division. Inoue-san was a quiet, friendly man, a little older than the other captains and a close friend of the Commander. Levy always felt more comfortable working with him than with anyone else, including Gajeel. She _liked_ working with Gajeel, but she wasn't precisely comfortable, especially in the last little while. Inoue-san rarely got impatient, and was more cheerful than Saitō-san, while at the same time less manic than Okita-san (who had pink hair—pink!).

"I expect they'll offer Tani-kun the empty room on the inner compound," Inoue mused, as the pages heated buckets of water in which to scald the dirty dishes. "Matsubara is happy where he is, and already has only one roommate, and Takeda-san will prefer to keep the little closet that he has near the Commander's quarters."

"Closet, Inoue-san?" asked Levy, curious.

"Mm, well it's not much bigger than one, but it got him his own space as well as closer to Kondō-san. It may even have been a closet once, I don't know. Either way, if Tani-kun moves then you'll come with him of course, Yukimura-kun."

"Oh…" Levy stopped mid-way through sloshing hot water on to a stack of dishes as the implications sank in. They'd have a room together? She suddenly wished she knew what Gajeel thought of the situation. After all, it was bad enough to be sharing a room with three men, but although it might seem odd, there was—in Levy's mind—far more impropriety attached to living with just one.

"Aki-kun?" prodded Wendy, gently. "Come on… I'm sure the idea of more space is tempting, but I've got other chores to do and so do you."

"Ah! Yes, o-of course, Yamato-kun! _Sumimasen_!"

* * *

Gajeel and the others were in meetings for the rest of the day, including dinner. Levy and Wendy were asked to help cook and serve the meal, but they were not allowed to stay and eat with the officers. In fact, they were firmly dismissed with orders to go find work out-of-doors, ostensibly because it would be cooler, especially as the sun was setting.

"They know and we know that they're just getting us out of the way," Levy muttered rebelliously. "Why couldn't they just say so?"

Wendy looked at her curiously. "It's more polite not to, I suppose. Does it matter?"

"No, I guess it doesn't." Levy sighed and then forced herself to relax her shoulders.

The two young women looked around the inner courtyard to see if there was any tidying to do, but other than some general weeding—and Levy wasn't sure that she would know the weeds from the non-weeds—everything was in order. The well even had clean cloths and basins beside it, so there was nothing to do there. Levy drew up some water and they both took the opportunity to drink.

"Levy-chan?" Wendy murmured in her soft voice, as they sat under the sakura tree sipping cold water and watching the sun set behind the garden wall.

"Hmm?"

"Erza-san told me that it will be up to you and Gajeel-san to decide how you want to arrange things. Um. It might look a little odd, but you could stay with the Inspectors. After all, you do quite a lot of work and training with Lahar-san now, don't you?"

Levy stared at her. As uncomfortable as she had found the idea of sharing a room with Gajeel, she realized that the idea of _not_ sharing a room with Gajeel made her feel worse. How inconsistent was that? Fortunately, Wendy was a very undemanding companion, and generally seemed to know when to let Levy think before expecting an answer.

"I… yes, I do work with Lahar-san quite a lot. But—what do you think?"

It was Wendy's turn to stare. People rarely asked her opinion, since she was so much younger than everyone. At the same time, she was intelligent enough to recognize a dodge when she heard one.

"I think it will depend on what you want and how much you trust Gajeel-san."

"It's not a matter of trust," Levy said immediately, the words coming out more forcefully than she'd intended. She frowned at her hands. She'd never had a _friend_ before, and the idea of discussing something personal with anybody was new to her—other than necessary conversations with Keiko-san about women's matters, of course, but Keiko-san had not been a peer in any sense. That reminded her of something she'd been wanting to ask. "Wendy-chan? You probably don't know… but did anybody ever say anything to you about the older lady who was taken prisoner at the Ikedaya on the night of the raid?"

To her surprise, Wendy gave her an odd look and sighed.

"I wasn't supposed to talk to you about that… But I suppose it's okay now since you've joined, right?"

"I'd really like to know, unless you think you'll get into a lot of trouble."

"No, it's probably fine. Well, things were a little crazy that night, you know? And there were a lot of our people hurt, too. So I was really busy. But the next evening—the day you arrived—Gajeel-san asked Erza-san if there was any chance that I could maybe help with one of the prisoners, since she was an older lady and Lahar-san said that her condition was not very good."

"That's what happens when a big man hits a small woman, especially an older one with no way to defend herself," Levy cried indignantly, all of her concern and anger returning in a rush.

"Ah, yes—I do understand how you feel, Levy-chan." Wendy looked very sad and worried. "The lady was like a foster-mother to you, right? Or grandmother?"

"Was?"

"Oh! _Gomenasai_! As far as I know, the lady is still alive. I should have said. I wasn't allowed to see to her right away, Levy-chan, I'm sorry. But Erza-san restricts the use of my healing powers quite a lot you see, both because it drains me a bit and because it's such a secret, you know?" Wendy peered anxiously as Levy, who just nodded and tried to keep her expression neutral. "B-but I did go to see her later!"

"You did?" Suddenly Levy felt more hopeful.

"Yes. I wasn't supposed to tell you, but Gajeel-san asked again a few days later." Wendy gave Levy a side-long look that made the older girl blush slightly. "And Erza-san said that since he was making a nuisance of himself, she'd approve it _and_ be the one to tell Jellal-san about it. I'm afraid that she laughed at Gajeel-san a little, but I know that she was actually quite happy, because she's been worried that so many of the"—Wendy lowered her voice even further—" _People_ —the men especially—seem to have lost sight of the fact that we are usually a peaceful race."

Levy leaned in closer and lowered her voice as well. "Dragons and Oni don't seem like very _peaceful_ sorts of beings to me, Wendy-chan."

Wendy looked down, biting her lip, and there was a short silence. Levy was puzzled—her comment might have been a little disbelieving, but that was all.

"Um… I guess Gajeel-san kept my secret then."

"More secrets? You're not going to tell me that you're actually a boy after all, are you?"

Wendy laughed slightly, as Levy had hoped. Her days had gotten a little easier now that she could bathe with Erza-san, Wendy and Kana-san; however, it also meant that she was reasonably sure that they were women. Then again…

"Nothing like that! But…" Wendy looked a little hesitant, then continued. "You assumed that I was a Yōsei, so Erza-san confirmed it. She tried not to lie by saying that I was a Yōsei 'as you already know'—do you remember?—but I don't know, myself. It wasn't a very good not-lie. I think she's just gotten very good at lying about me when she needs to, so it's become much easier for her."

Levy couldn't follow a lot of what Wendy had just said, but a couple of things stood out. She needed to get the conversation back on track. "Wendy-chan? What is the secret you were going to tell me? And did you see Keiko-san? Don't worry about the rest right now, it's okay."

"I'm a D-dragon," Wendy breathed softly, her head practically touching Levy's because they were so close.

"Really?!" Levy was so startled that she almost whacked her head into Wendy's. Then she clapped her hand over her mouth and looked around furtively. The officers' courtyard remained devoid of life, however. "I mean, wow," she whispered, once she'd regained her balance and her poise.

Wendy nodded. "Right. And, um, there aren't exactly a lot of female Dragon-folk so people get kind of overprotective." She looked embarrassed, and then added: "Y-you see, L-laxus-sama—the Prince, you know?—wanted to keep me in Magnolia so that when I grew a little older we could be m-married."

Instinctively, Levy put an arm around the younger woman and squeezed. It was unusual for her, since she'd learned to keep her distance from people over the last ten years, but it seemed quite natural to want to hug Wendy. "He doesn't sound like a very nice man. I can see why you wouldn't want to be forced into marriage with him. I have a feeling that the people here won't let him get his way, though."

Her friend waved her hand quickly in front of her face in a firm "no". **(1)** Levy gave the slim shoulders another squeeze, and then folded her hands in her lap again.

"About your Keiko-san," Wendy said after a moment, when both of them had regained their composure. "Erza-san took me to see her and I'm afraid she was quite badly hurt. Lahar-san had given her what care he could when he examined her—he is a good man, even though he seems a little cold at times—but he couldn't do much. The most important thing he did was to have her moved out of the common cell into a small room. After all, it wasn't as though she could run away, right? I aided her when I saw her—and I've been allowed back once, since—and I can tell you that although she is very frail, she was alive when I saw her a week ago. She is very sad, though. I know it is the law but, um, her son has been condemned to death as a traitor, along with every other man they took prisoner."

Levy wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was awful of course, for Keiko-san, but the son had never been anything other than mean—in every sense—where Levy was concerned, and but for his mother, it wasn't clear how he might have treated Levy. With her unusual looks, he might have considered selling her to one of the brothels—or worse, forced her to start entertaining his guests as an unlicensed prostitute. Levy was aware of situations of that sort, and knew that she would have run away to avoid it, although the risk of starving to death was not insignificant. Better to run away and starve, though; the alternative was often to become pregnant and then be thrown out to starve anyway.

Some of these grim thoughts must have shown on Levy's face, because Wendy took one of her hands, exclaiming: "I am so, so sorry! This must be terrible for you!"

Levy gently withdrew her hand and gave the other girl a reassuring smile. " _Īe_." **(2)** Then she looked over at the building, thinking about everything she had known—and had learned since joining the Shinsengumi—about men. They weren't all the monsters that Keiko-san had made them out to be, but Levy had to agree with the older woman that it was best to be on one's guard most of the time, which was no doubt the purpose of her warnings. The truth was that men held all of the power in Japan; it was an accepted part of everyday life.

"It isn't terrible for me, Wendy-chan," Levy continued after a few moments. "To be honest, I care more about the men here after two months than I ever cared about Ikeda-san and his relatives and cronies. My life here as a page is much better than what I ever had at the inn."

Wendy looked at her wide-eyed. She obviously hadn't imagined such a reaction. Erza-san and her own innocent nature had obviously protected her from being fully aware of some of the realities of life, even as a page of the Shinsengumi. "But you care about Keiko-san?" she asked Levy, in hesitant tones.

"Oh yes! She was extremely kind to me, you see. In fact, in many ways I owe her my life just as much as I would owe any man who protected me with a sword or spear."

"I see." Wendy seemed to be thinking this over, and Levy waited patiently, trying to keep her gaze from shifting back to the meeting hall. At last, Wendy said softly: "Erza-san told me that you had probably had to deal with quite a lot, before coming here. Pretty much all of us—you know—have had to get by without any blood kin, which is a challenge. But you didn't even know who you were, or what you could do, or anything. I think you must be much tougher than I am."

"Huh?" Levy was taken aback. "Oh, I suppose we all deal with what we're given, right? And honestly, Keiko-san did look after me, right from the beginning. So I am immensely grateful to you, and to Erza-san, for deciding to help her as much as you could."

"And to Gajeel-san," prompted Wendy, this time with a tiny smile that was almost a smirk.

"No," said Levy firmly. "Job or no job, he's the one who hurt her."

Wendy's smile grew more pronounced, if anything, despite Levy's serious tone. "Ah, but that's not why he called in favours to make sure she was looked after, _ne_ Levy-chan?"

Levy reddened. "I don't know… why he would do that," she replied defensively, feeling the uncomfortable prickle along her skin that she always felt when she wasn't really telling the truth.

"I know what Happy would say," crowed Wendy, now almost giggling. Then she froze, clapping her hand over her mouth in horror.

"Happy?" asked Levy, confused.

"N-nothing. Well, not nothing but I'm not allowed to talk about that. Please, _please_ don't ask me anything else about that."

The girl looked honestly upset, so Levy nodded immediately. "Okay. I'm sure I'll find out eventually, right?"

"Y-yes—thank you!"

"It's fine, I've got lots of other things to think about anyway."

"Right. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have teased you, Levy-chan. I just assumed too much, that's all."

Levy eyed her warily. "About?" Not that she couldn't guess.

"Well… you know…"

"Enlighten me."

Wendy blinked at her and then gave a short gurgle of laughter. "That's what Lahar-san says when he is annoyed! You sounded just like him!"

Levy rolled her eyes and stood up. "Let's go see if Captain Tani's new room is fit to live in, shall we? Which one is it?" She ignored Wendy's surprised look at first, but then relented: "Even if I'm not sure that sharing a room with Gajeel is the right thing to do, it is the most sensible arrangement for many reasons."

Wendy rose slowly to join Levy, frowning. "But Levy-chan… It isn't just about what is sensible, is it? I-I thought maybe it was more than that."

Levy felt her face go neutral, as it usually did when she was pressed too closely on a subject she hadn't yet fully thought out. Wendy didn't realize just how much more Levy had already shown of herself than she ever had before. Before she could speak, though, Wendy picked up on her mood and bowed slightly.

"The room is this way, Aki-kun," said Yamato Daisuke, Shinsengumi page. "They've been using it for guests from time to time, but unless Inoue-san has bothered to have it cleaned I'll bet it hasn't been looked after properly."

"Wonderful," groaned Yukimura Aki, with more or less unfeigned disgust. "Then we may as well get started, because if it hasn't been aired then it's going to be really awful in there."

It wasn't quite as bad as it could have been: the tatami mats weren't rotting in the heat and humidity, for example. On the other hand, both pages sighed deeply when they saw how many bugs they would have to deal with.

* * *

 **[END OF PART III]**

* * *

 **Notes:**

 **(1)** Although nodding is an affirmative in Japanese, a head-shake isn't a traditional "no". "No" is signaled by fanning a hand in front of the face.

(2) Spelled "i-i-e" and pronounce "ee-yeh", this is a fairly common way to say "no" or "no, not at all".

* * *

 **Author's Note:** When Part III reached 8500 words (not quite finished), I decided to break it in two and post the first half. On the bright side, it means that the next chapter will be ready by tomorrow.


	11. The Oath of the Exiles, Part 4

**Author's Note:**

 **This is the fourth and last part of the chapter-arc "The Oath of the Exiles"** for the story **Gajeel (or Gajevy) of the Shinsengumi**.  
Just as the first part of the chapter-arc marked a turning point for Levy, and her place in the Shinsengumi and the Fairy Tail Guild, the final part marks a turning point for Levy and Gajeel as a couple.

I do plan to write an Epilogue at some point, and I think that I will likely do a series of side-stories or arcs featuring the other characters. I know that many of you are curious about several things including:  
\- Where is Lucy and what happened to her? (And related matters, such as (1) why the change in Natsu's day-to-day personality? (2) where is Happy, if he exists in this AU?)  
\- What happened to Juvia and is she still alive? (Related matters: why the friction between Natsu/Gray/Gajeel, since is seems to relate?)  
\- Who/where is Pantherlily (if he exists in this AU)?  
\- What is going on with Laxus, Freed and (presumably) Bickslow and Evergreen?  
\- What about Mirajane and Elfman?

And so on. Even when it is only tangential to my immediate plot (Gajevy), I have built up a framework around many of the Fairy Tail characters, in order to keep reactions consistent across a semi-complete tapestry.

In any event, **this is the final chapter** (apart from a probable epilogue) **for Gajevy Week 2017.**

I have had amazing support for this story, which is why I think that I'll probably continue to write about these characters, and this **Fairy Tail / Shinsengumi AU** in the future (and yes, it will likely continue to have a slight Hakuouki tie-in, while being a Fairy Tail AU). If you'd like to see more, please send me your comments (through whatever forum/medium you prefer, even on Anon); if nothing else, I'd like to know what people are most interested in.

Thank you to everyone for your comments, reviews and general encouragement through favourites and follows and on Tumblr. I apologize for not responding to everyone who has reviewed. Please know that your words means a great deal to me and truly brighten my day!

 _~ImpracticalOni_

P.S. And I still intend to get back to the people who have sent comments and reviews if possible!

* * *

 **The Oath of the Exiles: Part IV  
** **Prompt: Marriage / Living Together**

* * *

Gajeel arrived about two hours later, just a few moments after Wendy had left. Knowing that the other page was a Dragon, with outstanding hearing, Levy wasn't surprised by the coincidental timing. In fact, Wendy's sudden departure had made her nervous, and Gajeel had found her tending to a lamp that was already glowing perfectly.

"Thanks for this," the new captain said in a soft growl, looking around appreciatively. "I've a pretty good guess what it was like before you and your friend got to work on it."

It wasn't an especially large room, but it was significantly more space for one person than Gajeel had had in a slightly bigger room occupied by three men—two of them massive—plus Levy.

There was a short silence, while Gajeel continued to take in his new quarters and Levy tried to come up with something to say. Eventually, she gave up fussing with the lamp and knelt to one side of the open door, facing Gajeel. She had a strange lump in her throat, and her nerves felt as though they were buzzing slightly. When had she become so _aware_ of the man's presence? She felt as though she couldn't quite breathe properly.

Gajeel glanced out at the courtyard beyond the door. Some distance away, Gray and Natsu were discussing something—without acrimony, apparently—and although they both raised a hand in acknowledgment, they seemed to be deeply involved in whatever it was they had to talk about. There was nobody else in evidence.

"Levy-chan," Gajeel said quietly. "I know it's a little awkward and all, but it'll be fine. Come on shorty, cheer up. You've put up with me for two months, I'm sure you'll cope. Besides, there's more privacy for you here, and that's a good thing, right?"

"Are you sure?" Levy instantly turned red. Not only was the question inane, but her voice had squeaked.

"Am I sure about what?" Gajeel sat down and leaned his broad shoulders back against the doorframe opposite Levy, so that he could keep an eye (and ear, and nose) out for any potential eavesdroppers. Closing the door wouldn't do much other than close in the heat and any residual moisture from the cleaning activities.

Levy eyed her mentor's crossed arms and impassive expression, noting that his posture was actually more alert than it looked at first glance. Maybe she wasn't the only one who was a bit nervous? Or maybe he was just tired but trying to be kind to her. The two lamps provided a warm, steady glow, but the soft light just accentuated Gajeel's rather craggy features and made his red eyes stand out vividly within dark pools of shadow. Was it really possible to fall in love—there, she had finally allowed herself to think the words—with such a man?

"Levy?"

Not shorty, or shrimp, or even Levy-chan. Just her first name, short and familiar. Inside her head she was yelling at herself to move, to talk… to do _something_. She managed to clear her throat.

"I mean—do you want me to stay here instead of with the others? I wasn't sure."

Gajeel gave her a slightly cynical look. "Your skin must be crawling, shorty, 'cause that's not true. You knew I wanted you here with me."

He was right. Her skin was prickling badly—or at least, that was the nearest she could describe the uncomfortable-almost-painful sensation that she always got when she lied. Except that she hadn't realized she was lying until the words came out. She hadn't _known_ the way he implied. Irritation overcame her strange shyness.

"Well I didn't know that I knew," she muttered, rubbing her arms to make the twitching go away.

There was a deep sigh from Gajeel. "Fair enough. I keep forgetting that you still don't always know how to understand what your senses—your gut instincts—are telling you. You've only had two months to make up for twelve years." Levy saw him look up at the dark sky for several seconds, and then out into the courtyard. "You don't have anything to fear from me. You know that, right?"

"Yes." The answer came automatically. "Well, mostly."

"Only mostly?"

Levy shifted uncomfortably, but answered honestly. "There are different ways of being hurt."

"I guess we both know about that, don't we? You know what it's like to lose everything when you're just a kid. Makes it hard to trust anyone." His eyes were back on Levy now. "Problem is, words aren't really my strong suit."

"Fine," snapped Levy, surprising them both with the note of anger in her voice. "You just sit there and dance around the point and tell me to be patient, and I'll just sit over here trying to put the puzzle together with no idea what the picture looks like!"

She saw Gajeel's expression darken perceptibly, and he seemed to grip his lips and arms together with an effort, as if to prevent himself from saying or doing something he'd regret. For her part, she was suddenly deeply afraid—not of physical violence, but of being responsible for forcing something out into the open that was, just maybe, better left unsaid for a while longer. She started to open her mouth to say something—to apologize, probably—when Gajeel finally responded.

"We're not human, Levy. Not even the Yōsei are all that close to being human, even though they blend in the best and get married and have kids with humans sometimes. And the problem is that close relationships—friendships, love affairs, whatever—between the Fae are kind of… _intense_. I've seen it go right, an' I've seen it go wrong, an' it's usually messy, for good or for bad."

"That's a lot of words for a man who doesn't do well with words." Levy tried to force herself to think what was best to do now, but she was suddenly exhausted. "Gajeel? I'm confused. Do you think you could just tell me what's going on?"

"What's going on…" Gajeel looked down. "Alright, I won't pretend not to understand. The problem is that I've never fallen for anyone like I have for you. Never so hard or so fast. But I'm also responsible for you, and it's not like you've grown up around the People and know what you're getting into."

"Oh." Levy was mortified to find tears prickling her eyes—she never used to cry so easily! "I… didn't know that you felt that way."

"Better for you to know your own mind first. Also, I can wait, and you wouldn't have felt safe around me before if you'd known."

The last part was unanswerable, because it was true.

"So, um, do you think I know my own mind now?" Levy's voice sounded timid, even to her own ears, which bothered her.

There was a soft huff of air—a quiet, amused sound—from the big man in the doorway.

"I told you what you wanted to know because you asked—not very clearly, mind you, but that's okay for when it's just between us. An' it's fair for me to put my cards on the table first anyway, under the circumstances. But you're the only one who can say for sure what's on your mind, even if I can make a good guess."

Levy was at a loss. They obviously couldn't just go back to the way things were, but she wasn't sure how to move forward. Her understanding of relationships between men and women was fairly basic: men took and women gave (usually whether they wanted to or not). Nothing that she'd seen in twelve years at the Ikedaya had taught her any differently. Only the last two months here had suggested that a relationship with a man could mean something other than complete subservience and a kind of unspoken struggle to maintain one's dignity.

"The idea of being… of caring… that way, makes me nervous," Levy admitted at last. She knew that she was blushing furiously, but she couldn't help it.

"Seems reasonable to me, kid. Sounds like you think you know how you feel, but you aren't sure what to do about it."

Levy nodded, deeply relieved to have her thoughts put into words for her. "Yes, thank you, Gajeel." She risked looking up at him, and found that his eyes were intent on her face.

"How about we go get our stuff then, shorty? It's getting' late."

It was anti-climactic, Levy thought, as she trotted along beside Gajeel. A man had confessed his feelings to her for the first time in her life, and instead of doing something romantic she had more or less sat there like a scared little girl.

She was so deep in thought that when Gajeel stopped in front of the door to their former room, she crashed into his back. He smirked at her.

"Thought you were lighter on your feet than that, Shrimp." The door slid open, and Shimada filled the doorway.

"Here for your stuff then? Hello, Yukimura."

"Good evening, Shimada-san."

Neither sleepy-eyed Shimada nor sharp-eyed Lahar made any comments as Levy collected their belongings and Gajeel picked up their futons. Levy thought Gajeel might want to chat with his friends for a bit, but they must have already spoken earlier, because it seemed like everyone just wanted to get ready to sleep.

"I'll see you here tomorrow morning, Yukimura," Lahar told Levy when she turned to close the door behind her. There's a lot to do and you still have a great deal to learn."

"Yes, Yamazaki-sensei," Levy replied automatically.

When they got back to their new room, Levy couldn't help but look around with satisfaction.

"Looks pretty good compared to what we had, huh," said Gajeel, sounding pleased.

" _So_ much better," agreed Levy. "I can put more of your things out now, and maybe bring in a bowl of flowers—what? Y-you don't like flowers?"

"That's not it, Shrimp. Although—go easy on the flowers, okay? I have a very good sense of smell, plus, most pages don't do flower arrangements, you know? Just try to keep it simple."

"O-oh, r-right." Levy was blushing furiously again. It had finally occurred to her that Gajeel looked amused because she had sounded so domestic. She squeaked when she discovered that he had come to stand beside her as she looked around trying to decide what to do next.

To Levy's surprise, Gajeel put a heavy arm around her shoulders. It felt good there, despite the persistent muggy heat, and after a moment's panic she relaxed.

"We're going to be okay—okay?"

"Yes?" Levy's heart rate seemed to be increasing. She turned slightly and peered upward. _What on earth was so attractive about ruby-coloured eyes and masses of black hair? Nothing, right?_ But she couldn't deny how good it felt to stand so close.

Almost as though he could tell that her thoughts were wandering, Gajeel gave her a quick pat on the head and went back to laying out the futons. Levy just stood there, trying to decide if she was most disappointed, irritated, or confused. She decided that it was a toss-up. Focussing her mind, she picked up a bowl and conjured water. Then, as a test, she tried a new word she had learned recently from Lahar: _ice_. It still gave her a quiet thrill that the magic responded so quickly and effortlessly to her now that both her writing and her control had improved.

"You've been practisin'."

Levy was pleased that she started but didn't squeak this time—damn the man for walking so quietly! She composed her face and handed him the water, trying not to drop it when she realized that he'd stripped out of everything but the short, lightweight under-kimono that he slept in. She glared at him, but resisted the urge—the strong urge—to conjure ice water right over his head. If nothing else, he'd probably enjoy it, and that would spoil the effect.

"Lahar-san says that I'm doing much better. According to him, my calligraphy is now better than yours, which is to say that with a bit more work it would acceptable for a ten-year-old boy."

Gajeel put his hands on his hips and grinned down at her. "Ouch! I'd be offended, but I don't think Lahar has a clue what my writin' looks like. He's just guessin'."

"He's probably guessing correctly then," snarked Levy, quickly making herself a fresh bowl of cold water. She told herself that she needed to calm down, get the lights out, get changed—best not to think too hard about that—and go to sleep.

By the time she'd finished her water and collected her thoughts—again—Gajeel had put out both lanterns and had stretched out on his futon, still awake, but quiet. The darkness was soothing. Levy made sure that the window was open enough to admit the night breeze, made her way carefully around Gajeel to her bed, and forced herself to take off her _hakama_ and _hakamashita_. **(1)** She reminded herself that she'd done this many times before—often when it had just been the two of them there—and besides, her under-kimono was practically like wearing a _yukata_ anyway. **(2)**

Unlike Gajeel, she still preferred the feel of at least a thin blanket over her, despite the heat, so she tucked herself into the futon, and tried to quell the nagging doubts that told her that she should have stayed elsewhere. She closed her eyes for a few moments, but her thoughts made her restless, so she switched to watching the dim moonlight make patterns on the ceiling instead.

"How about a little history to pass the time?" Gajeel suggested, in a low voice. "I know you're curious about a lot of things still."

"Alright!" Levy's response might have been a trifle over-enthusiastic, out of nerves, but the interest was unfeigned. She turned so that she could look at Gajeel, smiling to herself at how comfortable it was to see his now-familiar shape in the dark, even with the gleam of red eyes under half-closed lids. She relaxed, mentally shaking her head at her earlier fears, listening as Gajeel began to talk about the Guilds. Then she remembered how she'd felt when he'd said that he'd fallen for her, and she tensed up again. Was it wrong to feel so ridiculously pleased about something that she'd never made any effort to achieve?

Gajeel sighed. "Yer mind's wanderin', short stuff. I thought maybe I could distract you... but I didn't mean quite like that."

With a start, Levy realized that she had moved closer to Gajeel and had one hand wrapped around—or partially around—his sinewy, muscled forearm. She vaguely remembered doing something like this when she'd been drunk, and she snatched her hand back in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry! I was probably half-asleep, that's all!"

"It's okay. It's not like I mind. It's more that I know _you'll_ mind, once you notice. Thing is, Levy-chan, I want to stay close to you to keep you safe, but I'm not really the safest person for you to care about. Like I said, I haven't always been the nicest guy, an' on top of that the Shinsengumi aren't exactly paid to play nice with the enemies of the Shogunate."

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Levy sat up, frowning, her blue hair falling around her face and over her shoulders. "You can't just tell me that you—well, about how you feel—and then tell me you're a dangerous guy who I shouldn't get involved with! That's just wrong! It's completely inconsistent!"

Gajeel stayed where he was, although he had turned to look at Levy. His eyes were fully open now, and seemed almost angry somehow.

"I'm not the only one. Sometimes yer still scared of me—or scared of somethin' anyway—and sometimes ya keep touchin' me. I thought we could just, kind of, see how things went, but I guess that was a mistake. An' I really couldn't keep imposin' on the others, could I?"

"Imposing?!"

"Well… I kinda dumped ya on them an' then had ta go an' fall for ya—"

"And that _inconvenienced_ them?!"

"They're both very, very good at knowin' how people are feelin'. Means it's not all that easy to be around people who are kind of feelin' strongly about things."

Levy buried her head in her hands.

"So they've always known how you were feeling?"

"Yep."

"Even when I didn't notice?"

"You knew too, you just didn't know that you knew."

"Ugh."

"Levy?" Gajeel seemed to pull himself together, and he sat up. "You don't have to answer this, but… how do you feel about me?" His diction was firmly back in place and his eyes were steady on her face.

"I don't know— _ah_!" It felt like scalding water across raw skin, and Levy had to blink back tears of pain.

"It really hits the purebloods hard, doesn't it? Not so many pureblood Yōsei families around these days, but everything about you says you are one—pureblood and from some old, remote Yōsei clan that never interacted a lot with humans. Telling a straight-up lie is hard on your system."

Levy glared at him as the pain subsided and her nerves stopped twitching. She hated this feeling of not knowing—not knowing who she was, or what was going on, or even how she was feeling. She was a person who liked to know and right now she wanted to pitch a screaming fit and demand to be told _everything_. Since that wasn't an acceptable alternative, she settled for scowling at Gajeel, confident that he could make out her expression in the darkness. He exhaled slowly.

"I didn't want to tell you this, because you get embarrassed easily, but since you're already mad we may as well get it over with. Dragons have keen senses—yes, I know I already told you, but you didn't think it through very well. It's really hard to lie to us, because even if we can't see how you're feeling, or hear what you're thinking, we can smell the scent of it. Sweat, adrenaline, whatever. With a bit of experience, feelings get fairly obvious—I can hear it when your heart rate goes up, I can tell the difference between fear and anger and—other things."

"So I've just been some kind of open book to you all?" Tears of rage stung Levy's eyes. "I've been trying to work things out and thinking I'm doing okay, but it turns out you've all been laughing at me behind my back wondering how I can be _ignorant_ enough not to _notice_!"

"No, that's _not it_. Most people had no idea. And those of us who knew what you were dealing with—and you were living with the Shinsengumi's best spies, for crying out loud!—well, we saw how well you were handling things and we stayed as quiet as possible. No laughing involved, I promise. What went wrong wasn't your fault. We just both ended up caring a lot about each other. Which isn't _wrong_ , it just complicates things. To be honest, I have no idea what you see in me."

Levy bit back a harsh retort. She had a temper, but she'd learned to control it a long, long time ago, since getting angry usually meant going to bed bruised and hungry. Right now, she was thinking that she'd rather take a chance and be happy—whatever that meant—instead of staying angry and defensive. She'd been taught some harsh lessons in her short life, but something had always kept her looking for a good side despite it all.

Mutely, she held out a hand to Gajeel. He gave her a look of intense surprise, but closed his fingers around it gently.

"I really like you a lot, Gajeel," said Levy. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment, but her voice was more or less steady. "You're important to me. I think you already know how I feel, but you wanted me to say it, so there it is. I'm not exactly sure how you feel about me. I mean, you call me rude nicknames, pat me on the head, and make fun of my swordsmanship."

When Gajeel immediately tried to protest, Levy leaned forward and put her free hand over his mouth. "Not done yet, Captain." She managed a grin, although Gajeel could tell that a lot of her attitude was for show. She was almost shaking with nerves. "It's possible that you're just as bad as you paint yourself—that doesn't matter, since I was raised to believe that all men are complete bastards who can't be trusted. So from that perspective, I may as well have you as any other, right? I'm mentioning all this, by the way, so that we can skip to the end and get some sleep."

Levy dropped her free hand and bit her lip. Gajeel watched her for a moment in silence.

"You're pretty amazing," he said at last.

"Thanks."

"Actually, no matter what you think, you're a lot better than I deserve but… since you're willing to try to put up with me I guess that's okay?"

"Seems like it."

"Levy… you're still so scared—no, don't jump down my throat, I just don't understand what's wrong and I'm old enough to know better than to make assumptions."

Levy reclaimed her other hand and shoved both hands into her hair, as if that would somehow help her explain. Then she wrapped her arms around her knees, leaving tendrils of hair across her face. Gajeel found it almost painful to watch without picking her up and holding her.

"Being a woman… it's like being a little bit scared all of the time. You have no control over anything. Even girls in rich families—they have to obey their parents and then their husband and their mother-in-law and eventually their own sons. There aren't any options. I guess the luckiest women are the ones who know a trade or somehow inherit a shop; they might be allowed to get away with living their own lives, maybe. I'm guessing they still get a lot of unpleasant attention though. Working at the inn, I kept wondering how long I had before I'd have to run away. I had to get really good at smiling while trying not to get pinched or groped or just _touched_ all the time… You can't imagine how important Keiko-san was to me because you can't imagine what my life would have been like without her. Or maybe you can sort of imagine it, but being a man you just can't really know what it's like, day in and day out."

Mercifully, Gajeel heard her out without interrupting; Levy didn't think she could have managed otherwise. She didn't want to sound like she was whining, but for some reason she wanted him to understand—maybe just so he'd know that it wasn't a case of jumping at shadows.

"Alright," Gajeel said at last. "Let's see if I've got some of this: you grew up—as far as you can remember—always worried about when you were going to be jumped by some guy or just sold to him outright. Most days involved a kind of ongoing preview of how bad it could be. And there weren't a lot of options, since you had to eat. Once you were here, you found out that you had some skills you could use, and maybe some people you actually belonged with. You don't want to mess that up. Getting involved with any man has always been at the bottom of your list of good choices."

Levy nodded slowly. "That's a pretty good summary. But—"

"Levy, I know you think the People are a bloodthirsty, overly-secretive lot—and you aren't completely wrong—but we're a lot less hung up on the whole male and female thing, for the most part. Quite a few of the strongest Fae are women and pretty damn independent. We're not perfect by a long shot, but... Look—Erza would literally kill me if I touched you against your will—not that I would. You could just ask her, you know."

Levy's arms and body loosened a little. Everything he said matched what she'd seen, at least so far.

"Can I ask you something… and you won't tell anyone I asked?"

"Yes. Unless you're planning to kill somebody I have to protect."

Levy ignored the feeble attempt at humour. "Wendy-chan told me that she might have been forced to marry somebody. How can that be true, if you're telling the truth about women being better off with the People?"

Gajeel stared at her.

"Levy? You're a smart woman right? Erza fought a _war_ for her. Think about it."

"A war? But I thought that was about who would get to rule?"

"Sure, on the biggest scale. But there's a hell of lot more to it than that. I mean, you're right: Erza would have fought for the Master, and her friends, no matter what. But we were _all_ part of Fairy Tail Guild—it was a coup more than an invasion, y'know? Reality is that it was the tactics the other side used, and their plans for the future, that pretty much set the battle lines. Erza offered Wendy a home with the Guild when Wendy lost her own, and Erza takes that stuff really, really seriously. Laxus wanted the Guild, but he also wanted Wendy as his mate, once she was older. There _really_ aren't a lot of female Dragons around, and Laxus has some funny ideas about power and dynasties; I don't think it was personal. Thing is, none of us had thought about that—there'd been no sign of it before—so we weren't expecting Wendy to be a special target. When she got captured is when things got really messy, because Erza went ballistic."

Levy waited to see if Gajeel was going to add anything, but he didn't. There was obviously an awful lot about the Split that Levy still didn't know. Erza-san and Natsu-san and Gajeel's "rain girl" were all involved somehow, and Gray-san. Reluctantly, Levy left that conundrum to return to more pressing—and personal—issues.

"The women here are very united, aren't they?" she finally said.

"You could say that." Gajeel had seemed withdrawn, as he always did when mentioning the Split, but now he smiled a little. "Erza and Kana remind me of sisters, I guess—they love each other, annoy the hell out of each other, and they've got each other's backs. They really miss some of those we lost track of in the Split, but in a lot of ways that's just made them closer."

"I think… there's at least one more woman, though? I won't ask about her, since I know that's a forbidden subject… Besides, we need to get some sleep, right?"

"We can get some sleep once you tell me that you're going to work hard at getting your head around the idea that you are protected and respected here—by me and by quite a few others, including Titania, and Lahar and even Jellal the high'n'mighty Vice Commander." Gajeel waited to see a nod from Levy before he continued: "Jellal pretty much always knows what's going on; it's irritating, but true. I know everyone spent a lot of time telling you that our code is pretty much "don't betray us or die", but now that you've taken the Oath and have your mark, you should also understand that any attack on you—by _anyone_ —is also punishable by death."

"What?" Levy was genuinely startled.

"Actually, that's part of the Shinsengumi Code: no personal fights between members of the Shinsengumi. And although it's true that general scrapping isn't enough to warrant a death sentence, a personal attack of any kind will be reviewed by the Vice Commander—and the Commander and Deputy Commander if necessary—and it's always, _always_ dealt with harshly."

Levy leaned forward, face serious in the gloom.

"I trust you, Gajeel. I can't always help the, um, anxiety I feel sometimes, but it's not directed at you personally—I really hope you'll believe me. I don't need Erza-san to protect me from you, or the Code, or whatever. But knowing about those things does make me feel better, a little. Overall, I mean."

"It's okay, Levy, I think I get it."

There was a contemplative, surprisingly comfortable silence between them then for several minutes, at that point. Levy wasn't sure what Gajeel was thinking, but she tried very hard not to worry about it. She was feeling a bit raw—in an exposed kind of way—and more than a little self-conscious, but she also felt surprisingly light-hearted.

Very slowly, Gajeel reached out and ran a hand over Levy's hair. It was something much less casual and more intimate than anything Levy had experienced before, and she froze. A calloused finger gently brushed her cheek, and then the hand was withdrawn. She closed her eyes, trying to process her reactions. The good far outweighed the bad, she realized—and then she had to try not to let that unnerve her further.

"Sorry…" Gajeel's voice was a quiet rumble, and clearly anxious. Any frustration was self-directed, though. Anxiety didn't really suit him, Levy thought.

" _Īe_. Please don't be sorry. I'm not."

"So… we're okay?"

"Yes, I—I really think so." Levy finally relaxed enough to look fully at her room-mate.

Curious brown eyes met slightly worried red ones, and then Gajeel smiled slightly, his pointed canines visible even in the dim light. He nodded, and then stretched out on his back once again.

"Okay then. And feel free to hang onto my arm whenever you want—though maybe not on duty."

Levy blushed a little—but only a little—as she settled back under her blanket. Fortunately, her wits seemed to be returning.

"I think I can manage to restrain myself," she said, in reassuring tones.

There was a brief silence from Gajeel, and Levy smiled to herself.

"We're not on duty now," muttered the Shinsengumi's fierce Seventh Division Captain.

A small hand curled around his arm just below the elbow.

"Yes, Gajeel, I noticed."

* * *

 **[END]**

* * *

 **Notes:**

(1) A _hakamashita_ is a men's kimono designed to be worn with hakama pants. Note that the hakamashita is still belted like a regular kimono before the hakama are put on.

(2) A _yukata_ is like a lighter, less ornate kimono. They were worn to go bathing (especially at a hot springs), or as early-morning / before-bed casual-wear, or even as night-wear. These days, yukata may be seen being worn as summer-wear. Like a kimono, a yukata can range in style from very casual to fairly formal, depending on the design and the complexity of the _obi_ (belt).

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** As always, your reviews and comments are much appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Don't forget to send me a note (in whatever form) about things you like and would like to see more of. (Or things you don't like, as long as it's constructive.)

~ImpracticalOni


	12. Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

I promised this Epilogue quite some time ago, and I've finally finished it. I hope those readers who enjoyed the main chapters will enjoy this chance to see Gajeel and Levy's relationship develop further, as well as the more detailed explanations regarding other Fairy Tail characters and what has happened to them in this particular AU.

Now that the Epilogue is done (although I'm told that it reads more like "the end of Book 1"), I feel even more strongly that this story is really two AU's in one. First, this is a Fairy Tail x Shinsengumi AU - which includes glimpses of "Fairy Tail in 1864 Edo Japan, during the dying years of the Tokugawa Shogunate". Second, this is a "What if?" AU - in this case, "What is Laxus had won the battle for Fairy Tail?" I have no idea why I always over-complicate things this way, but thank you for bearing with me.

Thank you to all my readers, and especially to those who have encouraged me to stick with this particular fic by posting reviews and comments!

~Impracticaldemon

* * *

 **Gajeel of the Shinsengumi** — **Epilogue**

* * *

The meeting room contained most of the captains, together with Vice Commander Hijikata, known in this company as Jellal. They were all well-known to each other, but the mood was serious and the room fell silent the moment that Jellal raised his hand. There were no illusions—quite literally—among this group.

Gray sat off to one side, as quiet and still as usual since the loss of Magnolia and the capture—or death—of Juvia. Gajeel, sitting closest to him, still didn't know whether the ice wielder had ever returned Juvia's ardent love; regardless, the other man had taken her loss as bitterly as Gajeel, who had been her closest and oldest friend. Across from Gray and Gajeel was Natsu, arms crossed tightly over his chest, and brows lowered. He wasn't altogether pleased about the subject of today's meeting, although he accepted that it was necessary. Beside him, looking cheerful and more or less recovered from his—no her—head wound, sat a blond-haired captain wearing a colourful, sleeveless tunic and black leggings. Hers was the only smile in the room, and it had a sharpness to it that contrasted oddly with her large, velvety brown eyes. Completing the rough square, and directly across from Jellal, sat Kanna and Erza, the former looking as relaxed as usual with her arms up around one knee, and the latter sitting in a perfect _seiza_ position with her hands folded and her back ramrod straight.

"We are here to determine whether the young Yōsei woman known as Levy is to be told the details of our story and given information about our opponents and why they are so eager to find us. She has only been with us a few months, but she has taken our Oath and bears our Mark. Since the Shinsengumi, as a fighting unit and Shogunate militia, will be taking on new recruits over the course of the winter, it is important to ensure that the Exiles remain well-organized and _secret_ within its core."

There were nods from the assembled Fairy Tail Guild Exiles. Jellal turned to Natsu.

"We'll begin with your comments, Natsu."

Natsu set his strong, blunt-fingered hands on his knees—he was sitting cross-legged, like most of them—and leaned forward. His face was now intent rather than annoyed.

"I know you all think that I'm being stubborn as hell because my answer's always no—and you always outvote me in the end anyway—so here's a surprise for you: I say we tell Levy everything and see what happens. I've spent a bit more time with her in the past month, although not _too_ much"—his eyes glinted mischievously at Gajeel—"and I think she's solid. Plus, she's had a pretty rough time of it and learned some tough lessons. When I first saw her, I thought she was cute; now I think she's cute _and_ tough as nails underneath."

Caught off-guard by the whole-hearted endorsement, Gajeel gave the Salamander a look of startled respect. When Natsu grinned at him, the amused glint in his eyes even more apparent, Gajeel looked away again, annoyed at having given himself away, especially to Charcoal-for-Brains. Then he reminded himself that Natsu's teasing wasn't important, but his opinion was, and he'd given the go-ahead.

"You all know what I think," said the blonde next to Natsu, known to Levy as Tōdō Heisuke, Captain of the Eighth Division. "Tell her everything. The girl's as tough and wary as they come, even though it's obvious that she's got the true sensitivity of the Yōsei Old Blood. Also, Black Steel Gajeel over there has lost his heart to her and that's pretty impressive. I want to get to know her better."

"Thank you, Lucy," said Jellal, before either of the Dragons could react. It was always good policy to stay a step ahead of them if possible; otherwise meetings tended to get off-track. "Your preference is noted. Erza?"

"She will be a valuable companion. I say yes."

"Kanna?"

"The more the merrier. Her human foster-mother raised her right—always good to have a solid, healthy distrust of men." Kanna grinned at her colleagues. "Present company excluded, of course."

"Gajeel?"

"Yes. Tell her what she wants to know. Lettin' her guess at stuff is dumb."

"Gray?" Jellal spoke over whatever snarky comment Natsu had tossed into the conversation about Gajeel's answer being obvious.

"Levy is old enough and wise enough to be told what we are facing."

"Very well." Jellal surveyed the Exiles and his lips curved into an unusual smile. "As proxy for Makarov-sama, I will make the decision unanimous. Lahar and Lily have already given me their approval."

"Gajeel," Lucy said softly, leaning forward. "You'll explain things to Levy-chan, of course. But please tell her from me that whenever she wants to come by to talk I'll be happy to see her."

The big man opposite her nodded decisively. "Will do, Bunny-girl, thanks."

Lucy growled unconvincingly at Gajeel for the dumb nickname, but the others all had odd looks on their faces, quickly hidden behind serious or mocking or neutral expressions. They were all worried about Lucy—for good reason—and they all took some comfort in those moments when she was more like her old self: cheerful, outgoing, and determined, without the sharp edge that marked so much of who she was now. Nobody was surprised when she and Natsu left the meeting together bantering companionably. Natsu was always at _his_ best when Lucy had her longer moments of normalcy. Or what they still hoped was normalcy.

* * *

Levy was humming to herself as she set out the evening meal for herself and Gajeel. The last two months had gone well: she was more competent with a sword, far more confident as well as competent with her magic, and a great deal more comfortable around the Exiles (although she still couldn't quite feel like one of them). She stopped for a long moment when she saw herself in the small mirror that hung on one wall, suddenly conscious of the fact that she looked _happy_ and self-aware enough to know that it was about more than just weapons and spells and having a place to belong—although all those things were very important as well. In her mind's eye, Gajeel's strange red eyes glinted knowingly and his mouth was drawn into a distinct smirk that showed pointed canines. Levy felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

He had been true to his word. Over the days and then weeks that had passed since their first night together in their new quarters, he had rarely alluded to their discussion, and never pressed her for demonstrations of affection, although he would occasionally stroke her hair when it was loose on her shoulders at bedtime—though not for long—or gently brush her cheek with his fingers in passing when they were alone. And every night that he wasn't out on patrol, once Gajeel was lying still and ready to sleep, Levy would move her small pillow closer to his shoulder and curl a hand around his arm before closing her eyes.

The difficulty was that as Levy grew more comfortable with Gajeel, the way she felt about the man would occasionally catch her unawares and she would find herself half-way toward some small, intimate gesture if they were alone together. This is turn would frighten her, and she would freeze, wide-eyed and anxious, watching Gajeel methodically set aside what he obviously wanted in order to preserve their status quo. Most of the time it was hard to believe that he was in some way a dragon, as that part of him showed only in his eyes, or in the set of his teeth and jaw, or in the way that his hands curved as much into claws as fists when he was upset. But more of the dragon always showed when he was aroused, and those strange times when she found herself turning to him without reserve seemed to inevitably kindle desire.

And then there was yesterday. Yesterday, Levy had met Gajeel after his afternoon patrol, and they had walked back to their room together, talking companionably about the ever-increasing tensions in Kyoto now that the Chōshu had officially been declared Enemies of the Court and harsh inspections had been imposed on anyone entering or leaving the city. Something about how normal it all was had silenced Levy's self-imposed warning system—or maybe it had simply been the right time. In any event, as she had stood in their room, watching Gajeel wash off the day's grime, Levy had found herself very aware of the man and not at all of the conversation. Without thought or hesitation, she had reached out and run her small hand across his bare collarbone, enjoying the sensation of touching his skin, and the warmth that seemed to be pooling in her lower abdomen.

It had been less than a second later that she had found herself swept up—quite literally—into a tight embrace, and although it was Gajeel who had lifted her off the floor, she was without question the one who had tightened her fingers in his dusty black hair and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss. It had been a shock to find out that she felt not just affection—the word love still did not come easily—but desire. She had never felt the tiniest flicker of it in the past, which had seemed to confirm to her that it was a shameful thing, confined mostly to men and inflicted on women as one of the (many) degrading disadvantages of being born female.

Kissing Gajeel, her slight frame held firmly against his bare chest, irrevocably shattered Levy's belief that the desire for physical intimacy was merely a necessary evil of any relationship with a man. She was too inherently rational—and fair-minded—not to admit that perhaps there could be pleasure in it for women as well, under certain conditions. Of course, those thoughts came afterward. In the moment—and this is what made her cheeks burn now, as she mechanically finished setting out the private dinner that Gajeel had requested—she had kissed his lips with complete abandon, and allowed her hands to explore the warm skin of his neck and shoulders and upper chest with equal lack of restraint. In retrospect, she had to acknowledge how careful he had been not to take advantage of the moment to do much more than hold her steady and return her kisses, although her lips had been bruised for hours afterward from that alone.

Levy sat down in front of her meal, suddenly unable to face walking to the front gate to meet Gajeel. She remembered the first feeling of his teeth and tongue against her lips and raised her hand to touch them, swallowing. It had been so strange—as though her nerves were on fire but not with pain. Even the memory of it made her shiver slightly now, which was strange considering that the weather was still warm. His tongue had been slightly raspy, and he had teased her lips apart with it, before setting about tasting and exploring her mouth. She had done her best to respond, but had mostly been content—a weak word for how she had felt—to let him do whatever seemed best. She would learn for the future. The thought made Levy shake her head at herself and her weakness. One kiss—well several really—and she was already hoping for more, all her fears not so much forgotten as currently overwhelmed with sensation. She really needed to get her mind off such perverted thoughts…

The door slid open—she had sensed Gajeel, but hadn't dared look up—and then closed. There was a short silence, and Levy knew that if her face could redden further then it would. Even her _ears_ were hot.

"Ah, Levy?" Gajeel's voice sounded odd; it was both constrained and low enough to be almost a growl.

"Yes, Gajeel?" Agh, she sounded so fake and squeaky! She tried again, taking a deep breath and then looking up with an attempt at a light smile. The smile died on her lips when she saw her—friend? comrade? companion? mentor? _lover_?—with his back against the door, his red eyes wide and distinctly draconic and somehow glowing, and his fangs half-bared. There was… there was a hint of alien-ness about him even beyond that, and a sense of wings that was really just her perception of the slight shadowy darkness that somehow rippled at his back.

Levy should have been shocked—in fact she probably was—but her conscious thought was that this was _fascinating_ , as well as slightly terrifying. She tried to stand up, but Gajeel waved her back.

"Don't come closer, okay? Just… don't. You won't like it if you do anything… with me… when you aren't quite yourself."

"But I am—"

"No. Look… I'm older than I seem, I know what I'm talking about. Dragons aren't the tamest creatures, and I seem to have overestimated my control. Or maybe I underestimated you—I thought your fear of getting too close would keep you safe."

"Safe?" Levy was finally starting to come down from the slight euphoria brought on by her previous train of thought. Old anxieties started to override new feelings. "What do you mean? Should I be running?"

The man—dragon—by the door drew a shallow breath and seemed to relax slightly. The shadows at his back became more insubstantial, although they didn't fade entirely.

"Good—that's better. I think you're all _you_ now."

"What do you mean? Stop being so cryptic, it really isn't helping."

"Ah… well… you see, all the clans have their strengths and weaknesses, but Dragons tend to become a little overwhelming as they get older. I mean, all the older Fae are like that but Dragons are, I guess, _acquisitive_ by nature—not necessarily of things…"

"Not following." Levy was pleased that she sounded calm and reasonably cool now.

"We're really good at making people want what we want—not even on purpose, although I guess it's usually on purpose."

"For the gods' sakes Gajeel, what are you talking about? Are you saying that you've been controlling how I feel because you _want_ me?" The last part wasn't especially calm or collected, and certainly wasn't cool.

"No!" Levy saw that the "dragon" seemed to be fading away more quickly now; Gajeel looked much like his usual six-and-a-half-foot, red-eyed, black-maned self. Which was perfectly normal, right? "What I'm saying is that I'm trying very, very hard _not_ to influence you! And you'd _know_ if I did—at least eventually you would, which is why I'm working at it so much, dammit. _And_ —and—I already told you that Titania would kill me—after skinning me alive or something nice like that—if I laid a finger on you when you didn't want me to."

"Would she know?" Levy found herself asking, although she realized as soon as she said it that it didn't matter. She trusted Gajeel. She really did. Even now.

"For fuck's sake, Levy! If she didn't then Jellal would! Somebody would, I promise! Come on, give me a break… I just wanted to have dinner with you, and finally get to tell you all the stuff I couldn't tell you before… And next thing I know you're thinking about yesterday and that makes it really, really difficult to concentrate." He stopped, and Levy blinked when she realized that he was blushing.

"Gajeel?"

"I knew you were trouble when I saw you," he muttered.

"Likewise."

There was a short silence, and for some reason a lot of the tension seemed to dissolve. Levy found herself breathing a sigh of relief. Gajeel stepped forward, although rather tentatively.

"Okay, no problem, we can do this."

"What? Try to have some kind of relationship where you aren't encouraging me to have perverted thoughts?"

"Ha. No, perverted thoughts are fine as long as they're your own. But seriously… Levy, until you decide what you want, or you gain enough power—which will come—I'm just going to have to be patient. That's on me. That's my agreement with our illustrious leaders."

"About me?!" Levy started to feel annoyed again.

"Hey. They take your safety seriously. Don't knock it."

"Dinner's getting cold."

"Let me wash up."

Levy suddenly felt a stab of panic—the first in some time, barring what had just happened. She didn't want to lose her free will, or set Gajeel off again somehow. But did that mean that now she _really_ had to repress everything? She'd just been figuring it out, too…

"I'm… worried."

Gajeel walked over and pulled her to her feet. "It's not your fault that I screwed up. Please forgive me and trust me not to screw up again. You're safe, even though it might not seem that way. You don't have to close yourself off again. I misjudged how you felt—I honestly couldn't believe you might feel that strongly and I didn't take enough care. I still want you. I still want you to want me. If you can, remember that I didn't actually harm you. And I won't. I promise. I can protect you, even from me, until you're sure about things."

Levy blinked away sudden tears. _Dammit, not now_. She wanted to show Gajeel how strong she was.

"Better yet, you're going to make sure I can protect myself, right?" Her voice sounded steady, but she knew Gajeel could probably tell it was a bit of an act.

"You got it, Shrimp."

"Hey!"

"You know, you're really tiny." Gajeel lift Levy up by her waist so that they were eye to (now glowering) eye. "Can we start over? Like, we'll pretend that you weren't pining for me—"

"Ugh!"

"And we'll also pretend that the idea of you pining for me didn't turn me on to the point that I kind of lost it. Deal?"

"Is that really what happened?" Levy asked curiously, no longer glowering.

"Pretty much. Look, _try_ not to hate me, but I can sense you pretty well now, and also… well, there's lots of ways to tell how you're feeling."

Levy sighed. "Your sense of smell, your hearing, all that stuff right? Well I don't _like_ it, but okay."

"You pick up on things too, you know."

"I do?"

"Sure. Oldblood Yōsei like you… you've probably had to spend half your life _not_ picking up on what people are thinking and feeling."

It was true. Levy had always longed for the silence of her pantry-bedroom, as a break from all the swirling background "noise" of people. She just hadn't realized how much of it was literally in her head. It gave her a sense of relief to have even that tiny bit of corroboration for the idea that she truly wasn't helpless—she just needed more training.

"This is really undignified. Put me down."

"Waiting for me to take my shirt off?"

Levy brought her hands together and pointed. She'd been getting _really_ good at the characters for "ice" over the long, hot summer. Gajeel only grinned when the miniature ice blast caught him between the eyes.

"Not bad, short stuff, but I've had to put up with Gray for several years now—that was just kind of refreshing, you know?"

Ignoring a half-hearted jab to his shoulder and the trickle of cold water down his face, Gajeel pulled Levy closer, still holding her by the waist like a doll. Levy felt a stab of anxiety—he was going to kiss her, unless she said no. She didn't want to say no. She wanted to trust him. To her relief and disappointment, Gajeel merely touched her forehead to his and then set her down. Levy could tell that he was trying not to grin.

"You could help me wash up this time," he suggested slyly, finally taking off his uniform coat and slipping his arms from his _hakamashita_. He soaked and then wrung out the cloth that Levy had placed by the wash basin and held it up suggestively.

"I thought you said you wouldn't try to influence my—my affections," stammered Levy, trying for disdainful but ending up with flustered.

"Well you've got that wrong," Gajeel responded promptly. "I'm going to try to make you want me as much as I want you—I just have to make sure I don't push you into it. No magic, no weird dragon stuff. Also, no taking advantage when you had nowhere else to go." Despite his brash words, not even the sunset could fully account for the red in his cheeks. "Ahhhh… It's all been kinda complicated to be honest. Probably why it went wrong earlier, too. If you're really one of us then I don't have to be so damn careful all the time."

Levy could feel her ears turning red again. That was a very _direct_ statement, and she'd been taught to be carefully indirect. But maybe it had to be this way between them, to avoid misunderstandings.

"Do you honestly expect me to say yes to helping you wash, or are you just trying to shock me?" she responded at last, folding her arms and frowning up at him.

Gajeel looked a little abashed. "Ah… maybe a bit of both?"

"I never took you for such an optimist."

"Me neither. Who knew?" He shrugged, managed a toothy grin, and then rapidly washed his face, neck and upper body, finishing with his hands and then rinsing the cloth and leaving it neatly to dry.

Levy discovered that despite her best intentions, she hadn't managed to look away. She also seemed to have moved closer. Gajeel shot her an amused look, but refrained from comment. He sat down by his dinner tray, crossed his legs and held out his hand.

"Come sit with me for a bit, Levy-chan. Dinner and heavy secrets can wait a little longer, especially when you keep looking at me like that."

 _I can't believe I'm doing this,_ Levy thought, as she sat down rather gracelessly beside Gajeel. _I didn't even make him put on a shirt!_ She wasn't at all surprised—or resistant—when he picked her up and set her in his lap.

"So…" Gajeel cleared his throat, and Levy felt his chest rumble against her ear. "Maybe I'm trying too hard to get things back to where they were before. But maybe this is okay. Is this okay?"

Levy realized again that the widely-feared Black Gajeel was more anxious than he'd seemed. Either way, she'd already made up her mind.

"This is okay." Realizing that she'd become rather passive, which didn't sit well with her, Levy yanked lightly on Gajeel's hair. "And you _know_ it's okay because of all those awesome senses of yours, right?"

"Ow!"

"As if."

Her companion smirked, and gave a half-laugh that sounded oddly like "gi-hi". Then he raised his hand to the knot holding her boy's ponytail in place. "Mind if I do something about this? I like your pretty blue hair."

"You're awfully poetic for a blood-thirsty captain of the Shinsengumi."

"True." Gajeel waited patiently for a clearer answer, and finally Levy muttered "yes… alright."

Her hair came free of both string and ribbon, and she suddenly felt the odd warmth in her lower belly again. _Only a husband or a lover should be doing this_ , she thought. Except that Gajeel had seen her hair down just about every night already, so why did it matter? It made her realize that context and intention could make a big difference. The situation had changed. She looked up into the strange red eyes above her, and then pulled Gajeel's face down to hers. She had to stop letting shyness and embarrassment make her freeze, especially now.

Firm lips, pointed teeth, a slightly raspy tongue. This time, Gajeel didn't need both hands to hold her, since they were sitting, and the calloused fingers of his free hand traced gentle lines along her jaw and neck, before shifting to tangle in her soft blue hair. The feeling of Gajeel's large hand around the back of her head should have made Levy uneasy, but she discovered that it was much more exciting than frightening when the passion was mutual. It was just unfortunate, to put it very mildly, that she'd never heard of such a thing before. Presumably, there were other women in the world who—

"You're always thinking, aren't you?"

It took Levy a moment to realize that Gajeel was speaking to her; she had once again been rather lost among all the new and surprising sensations. She loosened her hold on her companion and blinked up at him.

"I… don't know. I suppose that's a little bit true."

"Hmm." Strong arms hugged her back into a heavily-muscled chest.

Levy listened for a few moments to Gajeel's heart beat—it was definitely faster than normal, she decided, pleased. She didn't want to be the only one.

"I could sit with you like this for a long time, Levy-chan, but we should probably eat, and I do need to tell you a few things."

"Shall I go heat up the soup? The kitchen isn't far."

Gajeel huffed a soft laugh. "It would have been more flattering if you'd protested a bit about having to move."

Levy ducked her head. "O-oh. Yes, I see what you mean. When I'm thinking about things I kind of react instinctively, I guess. It keeps me out of trouble"

"It's hard to get over being a servant, isn't it? Especially when an operation like the Shinsengumi—or an exiled Guild—still means you have to follow orders."

Levy shrugged uncomfortably. It made her wonder though—as a man and one of the People, what did Gajeel know about fear and helplessness? She decided to pursue that thought another time.

"Um, I'm not quite sure what to do right now, Gajeel..."

"No, I see that. The problem is that what I _want_ to do and what I _should_ do are two very different things. So you're getting mixed signals."

"Then it's up to me, right?"

"And?"

Although Gajeel's tone when he spoke of what he _wanted_ to do gave Levy that same shivery feeling she had had earlier, her mind was made up. She was good at that, most of the time.

"I'm going to get up and pour water for us. We're going to eat dinner together before it spoils. Over dinner—and after, if necessary—you will tell me what I need to know. I'm starting to feel really curious again. After that, we'll see."

"Yes ma'am!" The words and tone implied immediate action, but Gajeel leaned down to steal one more kiss.

Time passed. Levy finally put both hands on Gajeel's chest and pushed. The gesture was physically ineffective, of course, but Gajeel took its meaning and reluctantly tore himself away. His nerves jangled with arousal, and his various senses told him that the Yōsei girl felt the same way, but this time his control held. He reminded himself that control was a good thing, in this case. For now. He allowed himself to be chivvied and chided into eating his lukewarm dinner, but he didn't taste much of it; in fact, it took a while for him to notice much beyond Levy's scent and the rhythm of her heartbeat.

* * *

"It's not a happy story," Gajeel told Levy after dinner—and after he had told his overactive hormones to shut up and give it a rest.

Levy nodded, her warm eyes—so much brighter now than they had been all those weeks ago—fixed intently on his face. She was sitting comfortably cross-legged, a position she'd had to learn to use as part of her disguise; in ordinary Japanese society it was considered vulgar for a woman to sit that way. Gajeel didn't care one way or the other, of course—he just liked the fact that she was relaxed enough now to sit however she wanted.

"The civil war—the coup—that led to the Split was short and messy. Laxus set it up well ahead of time and executed it almost perfectly—him and the demon Freed, his captain, and a few others. I think I told you that Laxus is a powerful demon-dragon cross-blood, right? He's more dragon than anything, now, from what I saw—I think he experimented with some kind of magical augmentation."

"You mentioned Laxus," Levy acknowledged. "His human name is Kazama, right? I take it he's very strong, especially since he's managed to keep control of things ever since."

"Yeah, there's reasons for that. Okay, so Laxus and his buddies took over, but they weren't able to accomplish two of their goals: they didn't get Wendy, and they didn't get the Fairy's Tear. In fact, I shouldn't even know about the Tear, and neither should anybody but Makarov-sama, but after what happened it wasn't possible to keep it a complete secret. It can't be mentioned to just anybody, though, and if we ever regain control of Magnolia and the Fairy Tail Guild then we've all agreed to have our memories altered so that only the King and the Heir know the Tear exists."

"Okay."

"I don't know much about the Tear, except that it provides a lot of power to the person who controls the Guild, if he's attuned to it. It also provides extra strength to those directly connected to Fairy Tail Guild, and even protects them, somehow. Anyway, Erza managed to save Wendy, but it took everything she had to fight Laxus, and we lost Juvia in the process. She was probably my best friend—the only person I was close to from before Fairy Tail—and I don't know what happened to her. Erza says that Rain Girl took a direct hit that seemed to blow her apart, but she—Erza—thinks that it didn't destroy Juvia's actual consciousness. Elemental spirits are very, very tough. Even I'm not exactly sure what Rain Girl's capable of or what her background is. I think she's partly Yōsei, but I don't know."

Gajeel could tell that Levy still had to suppress a flicker of jealousy when he was speaking of Juvia, and that made him happy, even though he knew it shouldn't. He'd told the truth about Juvia, though: he wasn't in love with the beautiful water witch, and he'd never begrudged her the depth of her feelings for Gray, although her ardour had been annoying at times and the ice freak didn't deserve it.

"The main problems—and secrets—revolve around the Fairy's Tear. You see, a big reason so many people were killed or captured was that Makarov-sama asked Lucy to help him defend the Tear, once it became obvious that we were going to lose the battle for Fairy Tail Guild, and the result rattled Natsu. Lucy is a gifted Yōsei pureblood who is able to call upon the Star Spirits."

"And Lucy-san is Heisuke-kun?" asked Levy, curious to know whether her guess was right. "I recently began to think that Heisuke-kun was probably a woman. And there is some strong connection between Natsu-san and Hei—I mean, Lucy-san."

Gajeel smiled, despite the serious topic. He loved it that Levy was so smart.

"Right on both counts. Lucy is masquerading as Tōdō Heisuke, Captain of the Eighth Division. The only problem is that Lucy's personality isn't the same as it used to be, and isn't entirely stable, either. Since Natsu had a very deep bond with Lucy—although she was still pretty new to Fairy Tail when the war happened—the fact that she's… not herself… has hit him pretty hard. He's changed too—though he was pretty irritating even before everything went down. But you're making me get ahead of myself. Be patient!"

"Yes, sir!" Levy bowed deeply. Then she peeped up at Gajeel from under her lashes.

"Oy—stop that! Just… listen, okay? Gods, woman…" Gajeel rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat. "So… Natsu was supposed to be fighting Laxus with me an' Erza an'—well, some of the others who didn't make it or aren't here. But when he found out that the King had asked Lucy to help him seal off the Tear, and that they were under attack by pretty much the rest of Laxus' gang, he left the fight with Laxus to us and rushed off to protect Makarov-sama and Lucy. He's never told me, but I think what actually happened was that he felt Lucy's mind start to break. Like I said, they were close—so he felt pretty much _compelled_ to go, probably. But taking off like that, without warning, got Erza an' me badly hurt, risked Wendy, and, well, we lost Rain Girl. I've always had more sympathy for Natsu than some of the others, even though I'm not really a fan; they don't know what a dragon's instincts will do to him. Course, neither did I exactly, until recently."

"S-so what actually happened to Lucy-san and Makarov-sama?" Levy could somehow _feel_ the weight of Gajeel's gaze on her when he talked about Natsu-san and Lucy-san, but she had a feeling that they'd get distracted from the story if she pursued that line of thought.

"Ah-yeah, right." Gajeel ran a hand through his long mane of black hair, which had somehow come loose from its usual low pony-tail during their earlier discussion. "Well, I don't completely understand it, but I think the main part goes like this: Freed had prepared a number of complex enchantments before the final battle ever started, so the King and Lucy found themselves on the defensive right from the beginning. Makarov-sama hadn't thought that Laxus would give Freed so much knowledge about the Tear—I think I told you before that Laxus was Makarov-sama's heir?—so he didn't expect Freed to be able to aim for control of the Tear directly. Anyway, for whatever reason, Lucy ended up setting one of Greater Star Spirits—the Lion—directly into the ward protecting the Tear. That would have killed her, they think, since _she_ had no direct access to the Tear's defenses, but Makarov-sama took on part of the backlash, saving her life."

"That… sounds really bad," murmured Levy, now focused entirely on the story.

Gajeel's expression was somber. "Yeah. Natsu got them out of there—gotta give the guy credit for that at least. But Makarov-sama and Lucy have both got issues. The big secret is about the King. He's virtually powerless right now. For some reason, he's locked himself away into his human persona as Kondō Isami, master of a small dojo and now Commander of the Shinsengumi. It's a real problem, because he's still got immense amounts of charisma—hell, he's an Elder Fae. But he seems to have no memory of anything other than being human For all we know, he's doing it to hide himself from his grandson, but it's been rough. That's why Jellal's here. That guy's freaky, if you ask me, but he's got the power and the ability to lead, and he doesn't seem to have any inclination to take over permanently. He holds things together with both the humans _and_ the Exiles—I'm not kidding when I say you couldn't pay me enough to do his job."

"And he's engaged to Erza-san?"

"Yep. I still don't know all of _their_ history, but it goes back a long way, I think. If I had to guess, he's doing all of this—Jellal, I mean—just for her. And maybe a bit for Makarov-sama."

"So… Laxus-sama—"

"He doesn't deserve any respect, Levy. And he's no prince now either, despite his relationship to the King. If and when we get Fairy Tail back, he's headed for execution or exile."

Levy blinked at Gajeel's harsh tone, but nodded. " _Gomen_. Laxus holds Fairy Tail Guild—the place and some of its people—as well as the town of Magnolia. He is hunting for the Exiles. He wants to kidnap Wendy and he needs Lucy—because of the Tear?"

"Yeah. Apparently, whatever Lucy did—or the Lion is doing for her—is keeping Sparky away from the Guild's main source of power, which in turn protects the Exiles. Problem is, aside from the King's memory problems—or whatever—Lucy's really only partly here. From what I've been told, part of her is continuously trying to help the Lion guard the Tear. She used to be the cheerful, optimistic type—kind of what you'd expect from the only daughter of a pureblood family."

"Lots of money and not too much to do but look pretty and find a husband?" asked Levy, frowning. Heisuke-kun seemed much too vibrant, and too ready to pick fights, for an _ojou-sama_.

"I guess—that would be the human equivalent, anyway. Actually, that's exactly what I thought of her at first. I was wrong though. She had—has—a lot of guts. She left everything behind to travel to Magnolia to train her skills. Her dad even tried to take her back, but Makarov-sama told him no and sent him packing. After some, uh, difficulties."

Levy could tell there was more to it, but that would have to wait.

"Lucy-san—as Heisuke-kun, I mean—seems pretty energetic."

"Yeah, although even that comes and goes these days. And she doesn't always remember people and events the way she should. What can I tell you? I never got to know her very well, but even I can sense there's something off with her. I think she hovers on the brink of some kind of collapse, even though she's physically strong and a damn good fighter."

Levy sat with her head bowed for some time, trying to assimilate everything. Gajeel didn't interrupt her thoughts.

"What does it mean, Gajeel—that I know all this now? Does this mean my life is in even more danger?"

Gajeel looked uncomfortable. "Kind of. I mean we're all bound to secrecy on pain of death and all that. But it also makes you completely one of us—we've got your back and you know exactly what you're protecting. The Exiles don't make this gesture lightly, not after three years of looking over their shoulders. On the other hand, it means that you're expected to stand against Laxus with us when it comes to another war. You've already got the mark, but now you've got the full responsibility, too—to protect the King, to look out for everyone, to put your comrades ahead of yourself, and to try to reclaim Fairy Tail Guild and the Tear."

Levy exhaled deeply, but Gajeel didn't sense any fear from her. That was new—under all the courage and determination she'd always been battling a persistent thread of fear. He'd known it from the start and it had contributed to his original hesitation about what to do with her.

"Knowing things is just better, you see," Levy told him, as though she were answering his thoughts. "I haven't been afraid of you for a long time—not really—and now that I'm really part of the Fairy Tail Exiles, for better or for worse, I don't feel afraid of the others. It's like something's clicked and I know I belong."

Gajeel hummed softly, and wound his long arms around her, pulling her close to him again. "More importantly, you belong here with me."

"And who says I want that?"

"I do."

"You could be right."

"Yeah."

Gajeel bent his head, and his breath tickled Levy's ear. She suddenly realized that she was warm again, from the inside out. She blushed, knowing that Gajeel could sense the shift in her mood.

"Heh. Let's ditch the heavy stuff for tonight, okay? Maybe I can even convince you to stop thinking about everything for a while."

"Um…"

"Trust me. I promise not to push things, Levy." Gajeel's voice was as serious as Levy had heard it. "I just want to be close to you."

"…Okay."

* * *

"Did we do the right thing?" Erza asked Jellal. They were spending an unusually peaceful hour together, fingers entwined as they watched the sunlight fade from the sky through Jellal's window.

"Hmm." Jellal kissed the crown of Erza's head. "Right or wrong, we did what had to be done, as always. Besides, Lahar and Lily are the most cautious people I know, and they were pretty set on it."

"I suppose that we could all use a glimpse of happiness, Jellal. If we risk nothing, we lose everything."

"You are the greatest optimist I know, my warrior. The world is already on fire—for the humans _and_ for us. But you still believe in happy endings."

Erza turned and look up at her companion. "You have granted me that luxury. You are cynical and harsh so that I don't have to be. Without you, this task would have fallen to me."

"Hush. I'm good at being cynical and it doesn't pain me to be harsh when it's necessary. You want your comrades, your beloved friends, to be happy—I want you to be happy. It works."

The bright blue head stooped over the bright scarlet, and there was no need for further words.

* * *

"I like Levy-chan, Natsu. She's smart and kind and fun to be around."

"Yeah, she's okay. Pretty tiny though. Looks even tinier beside Rusty."

"Rusty?" Lucy frowned, momentarily perplexed, and Natsu had to push down the usual combination of anguish and frustration.

"You know - Gajeel. Metal-for-brains."

"Just because he snacks on iron doesn't mean you should call him Rusty, Natsu. Besides, I think they're cute."

The pink-haired dragon blinked at her then grinned. It was great when she sounded more like her old self.

"Yeah, good ol' Black Steel Gajeel... 'cute'. He'd _love_ that."

"Well, you never know. I've always thought he was a bit of a romantic at heart." A cloud of confusion passed across Lucy's face and dimmed her brown eyes. "At least—I think so?"

"I dunno, Luce. I mean, he really hurt you before, and _I_ sure haven't noticed any sappy streak in him."

Lucy rolled her eyes and punched Natsu on the shoulder. "You don't even know the meaning of sappy."

"Do too! It's like—" Natsu stopped abruptly, since he'd been about to mention the way Juvia fawned over Gray, and Lucy always got sad when she remembered that the water witch was missing.

"See? Anyway, want to go out for drinks tonight?"

A dark grey cat rose lazily from a cushioned basket by the door and stalked over, wrinkling its nose. Under the illusion, improbably blue fur surrounded a white belly, which was clearly visible since the cat was walking upright. His grey hakama were wrinkled from his nap.

"Drinks really means brawling with _ronin_ , for you two," the cat complained, stifling a yawn. "If we're going out, c'n you at leaaassssst"—another yawn—"stop for food first? Better yet, how about we go fishing?"

"Hey Happy! Whaddya think about Levy-chan joining the Guild—for real, I mean?"

Lucy shook her head, used to the way that the two of them inevitably ignored each other's questions, or went off on weird tangents. They'd always been that way. At least… she was pretty sure they had been. Her memories of the time before the Split were always slightly hazy lately and hard to hold onto, but her _feelings_ were generally pretty accurate. It had already occurred to her that part of the reason that she liked Levy—other than basic compatibility—was that she could talk to the other woman without the weird sense that she was constantly missing something. Oh well. She grabbed her purse.

"Come on Natsu. The Vice Commander's too _busy_ right now to notice us slipping out for a couple of hours. We'll buy Happy some fish, have a few drinks, and see if there's anyone brave enough to take us on."

"Sounds good, Luce. Let's try not to break any legs this time though. It was a pain dragging those guys in last week."

"Yeah, yeah."

The three headed out into Kyoto in relatively good spirits. The watcher in the shadows just shook his head. You knew life was getting weird when Natsu was the one giving the good advice. Pantherlily strolled away unnoticed, eventually regaining his own room.

"Everyone okay?" asked his roommate, looking up from his desk.

"As good as they're going to get right now, Lahar. I think I'll stay in tonight and get some sleep."

"Fine with me, Lily. Think I'll do the same. It's been busy lately."

The two Fae nodded companionably to each other. There was probably a war brewing, for both the humans and the People, but they could let that go for an evening and just enjoy a bit of peace. They were both satisfied with Levy-chan's progress—and Gajeel's. Lily smirked a little as he got ready to turn in for the evening. He had to agree with Lucy: the big dragon and the small fairy were… very cute.

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 **A/Note:** Thank you for reading and reviewing or commenting! I always enjoy hearing from people. **\\(^u^)/**


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